The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind
by Mistercraycray95
Summary: It was a normal school day at Bayvile High School for David Ripley, or as normal as it could be for an abused gay kid, until he finds out he's a mutant, which is more scarier than finding out you're gay, but joining the X-Men makes it all worth it. Rated M for language, violence, and brief sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Author's Note: All X-Men characters belong to Marvel. David Ripley is my OC. And the events in this story correspond to the episodes in the series, plus a few extras and changes. Also this is my first fanfic so please rate fairly, if you will._

**Bold: Location, time, and date**

**Chapter One: Normal day at school**

My name is David Allan Ripley. My real name is Josh Davidson, but you tell anyone this and you die! No I'm just kidding, but seriously, don't tell. I'm just making sure I know my own name because of what happened earlier this morning.

_(Bayville High School: 10:54)_

"For the love of God, I'M NOT GAY!"

"Of course you're not fag, why else would you be kissing that Daniels guy, you taste testing his lip-balm to see what flavor it is?" Duncan said laughing.

"I WASN'T KISSING HIM! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled

Duncan grabbed me and slammed me into the locker; I think my feet weren't touching the ground, because I could barely feel my feet or the ground.

"Are you talking back to me fairy-boy?" Duncan asked dangerously. "Do I need to remind you of your place in my school?"

"DUNCAN!"

He turned his head around to see a fine looking guy with neat looking red sunglasses and tacky pants walk towards us. Scott Summers is his name, cute, but really creepy. Oh yeah, did I mention I really am gay? No one else knows, but Duncan found out somehow, probably Carl my dumbass, abusive excuse of a father told him to make Duncan beat me while I'm at school.

"Go away Summers, this little queer's getting himself a knuckle sandwich." Duncan said.

"Leave him alone Duncan, this is the fifth time you bothered him today, give it a rest." Scott said.

"This piece of shit shouldn't have been walking down my hallway, near the locker rooms where we change, and we're naked! I won't have queer boy stopping by to check my junk!" Duncan said.

"I'm not GAY! I'm not checking you out! Besides if I were, you wouldn't be my type!" I yelled.

"Is that so?" Duncan said.

"Yes, I would not, absolutely not, date total dim headed, asinine, ignoramus like you!" I said

And after a brief moment of silence, which lasted for half a second, I was seeing stars and my breath was completely gone. I saw Scott push the other guys away and some red head grabbed Duncan by the shoulder. I think that was Jean Grey, Mathews' girlfriend. What the fuck she saw in that douchebag I'll never know. She's like the exact polar opposite of him and she is much more prettier than him, so I must ask again, why? Anyway I woke up in the nurse's office feeling nauseous and light on my feet, and my head hurt like a bitch. I looked around and there was Scott and Grey sitting around looking at me.

"Oh god, my head." I said

"Are you alright David?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you!" I said

"Hey, be nice. You were lucky she got Mathews to lay off you." Scott said

"Yeah, whatever, sorry red." I said

Grey smiled at me. It was the nicest smile anyone has given me without the expression that they will love to beat me to a pulp. I stood up and started to fall.

"Whoa, are you okay dude?" Scott asked

"Yeah, I just got up a little too fast." I said

"You probably fell on your head when you fainted, you should maybe stay here and have the nurse look at you." Grey said.

"I just got up a little too fast, that's all." I said with an irritated tone.

Grey and Scott looked at me with concerned faces.

"Look I'm fine, I need to get to class." I said

I got up off the bed, grabbed my bag and walked towards the doorway.

"I'm sorry he keeps beating on you David, I wish I could stop him." Jean said.

"And I'm sorry you date the neighborhood asshole, and you can stop him. Tell principal Darkholme for god's sake, no, my sake, if you really care" I said

Grey looked at me for a second and just stared at the floor.

"I thought so, and call me Ripley, all my friends do, oh wait, I don't have any friends!" I yelled as I ran out. Scott just looked at Jean and back at the doorway with a disappointed look on his face.

**End of Chapter One.**

**Author's note: Oh my god! Intense huh? Hope you like it, please review, and review nicely please. I'm saying please a lot because I'm nervous and need new ideas! Give me some good ideas and leave some nice comments.**


	2. Chapter 2

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**Author's note: Hope you guys liked the last chapter. And the X-Men characters belong to Marvel, David Ripley is my character. And his boyfriend Kyle Daniels may or may not have a relation to Evan Daniel, the Spyke, who will show up later wards. I'm still trying to figure it out. Anyway Chapter 2.  
**

**Bold= Demon Voice**

_Italics: Thoughts, telepathic communication_

**Chapter 2: Go Away!**

After school, my head still hurt, but I decided to just suck it up and take some aspirin. Just then, my cell started to buzz. It was my boyfriend.

"Hey Kyle!" I said

"Hi David." Kyle said on the other end

"I didn't see you in class today, are you okay baby?" I asked

"Yeah baby I'm fine." He replied

"Bullshit, did Duncan give you crap today? Did he beat you?" I asked furiously

"No, but I need you to meet me at your house." Kyle said

"No Kyle, we can't meet anywhere near my house, we talked about this. My dad already thinks we're dating and I would love to keep a low profile with us." I said

"Please, I need to talk to you face to face at your house. Please." Kyle said

"Okay, I'll see you then." I said.

" Alright, thank you."

"I love you." There was silence on the other end for a little while.

"I love you too."

His name is Kyle Daniels, and he was the only thing in my life that didn't suck shit. I rode my bike to my house and saw him looking at me through the window in my room, he looked sad.

"Dammit, if Carl bothered him I'm going to… ah hell I can't do anything to him, he's too big for me or anyone to handle." I thought "Also I need to stop thinking; my head hurts enough as it is." II walked in and dad was watching some stupid game on the TV. He didn't hear me come in, thank god for that. I silently made my way to my room, and there was Kyle on the bed with a sad expression on his face.

"Are you okay Kyle?" I asked

He wouldn't look at me.

"Did that fat bastard hurt you?" I asked

He shook his head.

"He did! That asshole is going to get it! I'm fucking calling social services and the police right now!" I pulled out my phone and punched the numbers 911.

"You did!" Kyle said, he had tears in his eyes.

"What?" I said

"You hurt me David. And I lied, Duncan did hurt me, but you've hurt me worse than he ever could!" Kyle said

"What did I do wrong?" I asked

"Everything!" He yelled

"What, trying to be a good boyfriend?" I asked

"No, you haven't been." He said

"I took you out to dinner multiple times, held your hand when it needed to be held, and was there when you needed me. How is that not being a good boyfriend?" I asked

"Everything you just said is wrong! You took me out to dinner only two times and we have been seeing each other for six months, you only hold my hand when we are in a stall, you have me wear fucking high heels to make everyone think I'm a girl when they see two pairs of feet in one stall." He said

"Come on, it would make them all hate us even worse if they knew.." I said

"I'm not finished." He interrupted

"And you are never there for me, like when my grandparents died in that fire that took out half the school?" He yelled

"Don't you dare bring up the fire!" I yelled

About two years ago there was a fire that destroyed some of the homes in Bayville and destroyed half of the high school. I lost my best friend Spencer, and Kyle lost his grandparents. Spencer saved me from falling rubble, and ruptured his left lung, and Kyle's grandma fell through the second floor, his grandpa died trying to save her. They were his only family. And during the fire, I thought I heard someone laughing like a fucking lunatic. And I thought whoever it was, started the fire, and I vowed to find him, and kill him for it.

"You never came to the funeral, you never came to the wedding of my foster parents, and you never came anywhere because you are too damn vain and scared about what other people might think of you!" Kyle said

I couldn't speak. My headache was getting worse and my eyes were getting cloudy.

"You have to choose now Ripley! Either you come out with me and hold my hand, or I will leave you. I don't want to leave you baby, but you must choose now. You or me, if you don't choose in fifteen seconds, I'm out of here!"

I felt like my stomach was going to blow up. I didn't want to come out just yet, but if I didn't I would lose the only happiness I have in the world. I had to choose.

"Well, what will it be David?" Kyle asked

"I can't." I said

"What?" He said

"I can't choose now, I refuse to choose."

"You have to David, now!" Kyle yelled

My head was going crazy. It felt like my brain was trying to punch and burn its way out of my skull.

"Get out." I said

"No, you have to choose." Kyle said

"Please get out."

"You or me, I want you to choose right fucking now Ripley!"

Suddenly my head was on fire, literally!

**"GO AWAY! RIGHT NOW!"** I yelled as the fire enveloped my head and shoulders.

_(At the Xavier institute)_

The mutant Charles Xavier was at his mutant tracker Cerebro when it started beeping and wailing.

"Discovered mutant signature detected, the first in this sector. Name: Joshua Davidson Codename: David Ripley. Location, North Bayville, Age:16." The computer said.

Charles Xavier looked at the screen and saw a boy with brown hair and blue eyes with his head on fire. His head was engulfed in blue flame and his head was dark and hollow looking.

_"Scott, Jean, come quickly."_ He said

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**Bold= Demonic Voice**

Chapter 3: Go Away Part 2

I couldn't breathe. My heart was in my throat. I looked at my hands and they were glowing. I felt power growing inside of me and surging right through my body and going through my hands. I looked at Kyle and he was crying and shaking.

"Oh, my god! I hurt Kyle!" I thought

**"Kyle are you alright?" I said.**

I reached over to touch him and he screamed.

"Get away from me! Get away!" He yelled

"**Kyle please, it's me!**" I said, my voice didn't sound like me at all. It sounded low and distinguished..

"Get away!" He shouted running for the door. I wanted to stop him and make him stay here with me. But how could I touch him if I was on fire? I had to stop him so we could figure this out together.

"**Stop!**" I yelled

And Kyle just stopped right on the spot as if he were frozen.

"What the fuck is going on up there?" yelled Carl

"Oh shit! If Carl saw me like this, he would kill me, literally!" I thought

"Kyle we need to be quiet, okay?" I whispered

He whimpered as if he were trying to speak, or scream like I was going to kill him.

"**We just need to hide you somewhere until I can figure out this thing.**" I said "**Just be quiet and we'll all be okay.**"

I put Kyle in my closet with a gag in his mouth, when I started to hear Carl come up the stairs.

"I swear to god if you're doing drugs or masturbating, I'll kick your ass!" Carl yelled

I looked at my room and it was a mess. And then I saw myself in the mirror, my damn head was still on fire! My face was jet black and floating in a large blue fire. The strange thing was that it didn't hurt, but I could still feel the flames like a warm campfire's heat on my face. Still, it scared the shit out of me. I couldn't let anyone see me this way. My quote/unquote life was over.

"I wish that my head wasn't on fire." I thought in my head over and over again.

Until the warmth all over my head was gone. I looked into the mirror and my head wasn't on fire anymore, and then I noticed something really weird. My hair was supposed to be a light chestnut color, but when I saw my hair, it was as black as ashes. And I didn't notice it before, but it looked like I grew a few inches, maybe two or three inches taller than Scott Summers. Just then Carl burst in the door.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Yelled Carl

"Nothing Carl!" I yelled back

"Bullshit, I smell smoke! Are you trying to burn my house down?" Carl said

"No, do you see any fire in here?" I said

"Don't give me lip you little faggot. I know that something is going on in here." He said

I had to think of something quick. I looked everywhere and then I saw my hair in my mirror again.

"I was dyeing my hair if you need to know so badly." I said

"Then why does it smell like smoke in here, huh?"

"That's what hair dye smells like dumbass!" I said

He grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me close to him.

"What did you say to me you worthless sack of garbage?" He yelled

"You heard what I said you insufferable prick. In fact, I have been saying many more things about you that are true. For example you never got to succeed in anything your life and get off real hard from saying and doing things to inflict pain on others to make yourself seem like a bigger man. To tell you the truth, I see something big grabbing at me and making life a living hell for everyone. To tell you the truth Carl you are nothing but a big, fat, asinine, pompous bastard who I have had the joyless pleasure of knowing. And another thing, you smell like used tampons, which girl was it this time, the big breasted wretch or the lice infested whore?" I said. I had no idea where I was getting the strength to say all these things, or where this rage was coming from. I know I didn't really dye my hair, but if I did it was nothing to say all those things about. But then again he had made me suffer my whole life, so he had it coming. All I knew then was that I was pushed down the stairs by him. I felt my leg break halfway down.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed in pain

"I'm gonna kick your faggoty ass you little shit." Carl said

My leg was in brutal agony and blood was rushing from my nose. I was really scared. I was actually convinced that he was going to kill me.

"Get away from me Carl!" I said

"Not until you get taught a lesson on keeping your damn mouth shut." He Said

My head started to get warm again as my fear began to turn into hatred and then to seething rage. And the next thing I knew my head was on fire again and I felt a lot of energy coming out of me.

"**I said get away from me you fat bastard!"** I yelled as the power enveloped me. Everything went dark as I saw Carl screaming, but I couldn't hear him. I wish I could have heard his screams, and that scares me. But what scared me most of all was the voice that came out of me, using my words. And before anything else happened that I knew of, I blacked out.

**At the Xavier Institute(While what was going on at the Davidson House)**

"_Scott, Jean, come to me!" Professor Xavier called_

And within seconds Scott Summers and Jean Grey were there.

"What is it Professor, another new mutant?" Asked Scott

"Yes, a very powerful one, and I think you know this one from school." Said Xavier

"Who Tolansky? We already know he's a mutant and he isn't anywhere near powerful, besides his stench." Said Scott

"It's not Tolansky, it's actually a young man named Joshua Davidson, or as you know him as Ripley." Said the Professor

"He is currently at his home in town, and his power is fluctuating at an alarming rate."

Jean and Scott looked at each other with concerned faces.

"Is there a problem?" Asked Xavier

"It's nothing Professor, it's just that Ripley's a good friend of ours and we don't want his own power to hurt him or to have other people coming after him."

Scott looked at Jean with a confused look.

"We should hurry and get there quickly." Scott Said

"Be careful you two, take Kurt with you, he should be useful if to need to escape. I don't know what the full extents of his powers are, he may be dangerous." Said Xavier.

"Okay. Thanks."

Soon Cyclops, Jean, and Nightcrawler were driving in the X-van.

"Why did you say we were friends with Ripley?" Asked Scott

"Because he has no friends and I think he can start making friends with us, if he wants to." Said Jean

"Who's Ripley?" Asked Nightcrawler

"He's screwed up in the head. Not that I blame him, but he hates Duncan and everyone who socializes with him, and if he's now becoming a dangerously powerful mutant, he could come after Jean." Said Scott

"No he won't Scott, he's not the kind of person who fights people, he's too logical and pacifistic."

As soon as Jean said that a large explosion of red and blue flames erupted from a house.

"Mein Gott!" Nightcrawler said

"That must be where Ripley is." Jean said

"Let's just hope he didn't do that on purpose." Scott said.

**End of Chapter 3**

**A.N.: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Again I apologies for the long wait; I will have a lot more chapters flowing in before you know it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**Chapter 4: Searching for Life**

**Italic = Telepathic voice**

(Normal P.O.V.)

When the X-Men arrived at where Ripley's house should have been, it was gone; replaced by a large smoldering crater in the ground.

"Mein gott." Said Nightcrawler

"Everyone look for any survivors." Said Cyclops

"How could anyone have possibly survived this? " Jean Said

We don't know that for sure, we just need to look around and scout out the area until we find..."

"…ve find a dead body?" Nightcrawler said

Cyclops and Jean looked at Nightcrawler with an annoyed look.

"Something, until we find something." Cyclops said

They searched every square inch of the area. The found a few remains of the house practically vacuum packed into the ground, but there was nothing to be found, no one to be found. Cyclops didn't know whether to feel worried, or relieved. He knew Ripley had a strong hatred against Duncan Mathews, and any who were close with him, including Jean. But he knew that a dying teenager wasn't cool.

"Damn." He thought "Where could he be?"

"_Help me!"_ A voice called out.

Cyclops turned around; the voice sounded like it was right behind him, a little boy's voice.

"Hello? Where are you?" Cyclops shouted.

"_Please, help me!"_ The voice said

Cyclops started shifting through the charred rubble for the boy.

"I'm trying to get to you, where are you?" He shouted

Jean saw Cyclops shifting through the rubble in a panic.

"Scott." Jean said telepathically "What's wrong?"

"There's a little boy stuck somewhere around here, use your powers and try to find him and get Kurt down here!" Scott said

Jean scanned through the entire crater in search of a little boy. There was nothing, nothing but an uncomfortable silence.

"Scott I can't find him. I don't think there's anything here." She said

"No I know I heard him, he's screaming right now, how can you not hear him?! He's screaming at the top of his lungs!" Scott yelled

"Scott calm down, there is no one there." Jean said

"_Please over here! I'm stuck!"_ The voice shouted.

"Where are you?" Cyclops shouted back

"_Scott, calm down."_ A voice said. It was Professor Xavier.

"_Professor? Help me, please. There's little boy down there and..."_

"_Yes I know, but I cannot sense anything there besides the three of… just a moment."_ Xavier said

"Do you sense him?" Scott saked

"_Everyone clear the area!"_ Xavier shouted.

"Geez man ,vhats going on?" Nightcrawler said.

Just then a violent rumbling shook the ground.

"Kid are you there?" Cyclops shouted. There was no answer.

"Kid!" He shouted again.

Nightcrawler teleported behind him.

"Come on man." He said before grabbing him and teleporting them both to safety.

A large fire ball popped out of the ground, but there was something peculiar about it. It looked like it was something you would see on a holographic card or something, and the fire was giving off a blue aura.

"Vat is zas?" Nightcrawler said

"I don't know, but I'm feeling something from it." Jean said

"So am I." Cyclops said.

"_According to Cerebro, that fireball is at the same power level as what was detected from Ripley."_ Professor X said

"You mean that's Ripley?" Cyclops asked

"_I'm not sure, but I'm finding some stray thoughts from it. Oh lord." _

"Vhat is it?" Nightcrawler asked

"I'm feeling it too." Jean said.

"What is it that you both are feeling?" Cyclops asked.

"_Pain, anger, confusion, fear, so much of it all. It's absolutely astounding and terrible at how much there is." _Xavier said

"Maybe ve should try and talk to him. Ripley must be suffering in there." Nightcrawler said.

"No." Cyclops said

"Dude, if he really is feeling so horrible, don't you think ve should help him?" Nightcrawler said

"Kurt's right Scott. We need to help Ripley." Jean said

"We don't know what will happen if we do." Cyclops protested

"But we don't know vhat will happen if we don't." Nightcrawler said

"It's too risky." Scott said

"Hold on, what if the voice you heard was Ripley calling for help?" Nightcrawler asked. "What if his powers are killing him?"

"_Kurt's right."_ Professor X said. _"Ripley's powers are growing far beyond his control or understanding. It could be possible that one of his powers include telepathy, but it's so hard to figure out what's happening inside his mind from here."_

"Jean, vhy don't you try?" Nightcrawler said

Jean nodded and put her hand to her temples. She looked calm for a second, but then she gave a mighty scream.

"JEAN!" Cyclops shouted.

Jean wouldn't stop screaming. It was obvious that she was in contact with the fireball that may or may not be Ripley, but she was screaming as if terrified of something.

"We have to help her!" Cyclops shouted

"_Scott, don't touch her!"_ Professor X said _"I sense that Jean is linked to Ripley, but something is keeping the link open. If you touch her you could get sucked in."_

"I don't care, there's something going on in there that's terrifying her, maybe hurting her. I have to do something!" Cyclops shouted.

"Then I'm going in too." Kurt said "Ve're X-Men and ve have to stick together, ya?"

"_Everyone, none of you or even me has seen anything like this, so be wise to expect the unexpected. I'll provide any assistance if I can." _Xavier said.

Cyclops smiled and everyone touched the screaming Jean Grey, their bodies surging with great pain. Their minds intertwining with each other, flashes of all of their memories scrambling together and swirling like a whirlpool. This occurred for what seemed like forever before suddenly stopping. Cyclops and Nightcrawler opened their eyes slowly.

"Whoa." They both said.

"Vhere are we?" Nightcrawler asked

"I wish I knew." Cyclops said, but on the inside he didn't. There was nothing but darkness everywhere, the only that was giving out light were a bunch of what seemed like little campfires.

"Jean?" Cyclops shouted. No one answered. "Jean its Scott, where are you?"

"I'm right behind you." Jean said

"AH!" Both boys screamed.

"Whoa, I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you guys." Jean said

"You didn't scare us; it's just cold in here." Nightcrawler said.

"Right." Jean said.

"We were worried about you Jean." Cyclops said.

"Why, I'm fine." Jean said.

"You didn't sound like it before, you were screaming so loud I thought that Ripley was doing something to you." Cyclops said

"Scott, nothing happened, Ripley didn't do anything to me." Jean said. "All that happened was that I tried touching his mind and then these… images flashed in my mind."

"What did they look like?" Cyclops asked.

"I don't know, they just looked like times that I felt guilty about something, which is really weird." Jean said

"Vhy? Guilty about vhat" Nightcrawler said

"Sneaking cookies from my mom's cookie jar or keeping a penny that my dad gave me to throw in a wishing well." Jean said blushing.

"Is that it?" Nightcrawler aked.

"You were a kid once; did you ever feel guilty for doing something as small as that later in life?" Jean yelled

"Whoa calm down Jean." Cyclops said.

"I'm sorry Kurt, I shouldn't have yelled at you for something so stupid." Jean said

"It's okay Jean." Nightcrawler said.

"There's something about this place that's making me feel like a..." Jean said

"…sad and angry little kid." Cyclops finished.

"Exactly!" Jean said

"Hello?" A voice said.

They looked behind them and there was a little brown haired boy wearing tattered clothes. "Who are you people?" He asked.

**End of chapter 4**


	5. Chapter 5

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**Chapter 5: Retribution part 1**

"It's you, the boy that I heard." Cyclops said. The little boy nodded his head.

"I heard your voice too. Are you here to rescue me? It's so dark and scary here, and I didn't know where I was or what was happening, but I keep feeling like something's following me, and he's going to hurt me." He said.

"Wait, who's he?" Scott asked.

"Carl, my dad. He keeps blaming me for stuff that isn't even my fault and keeps calling me names." He said furiously.

"What's your name?" Jean asked.

"Josh Davidson." He answered.

"That's a cute name Josh." Jean said.

"Thank you." He said.

"Josh, have you seen a teenaged boy about as tall as I am?" Cyclops asked. Josh shook his head.

"The only one I saw who was as tall as you is you." Josh said. "Whoever you are."

"We're the X-Men. My name is Cyclops, that's Jean Grey and Nightcrawler."

Josh looked over at Nightcrawler and jumped with a yelp.

"Is that what a fag looks like?" Josh asked.

"Vhat?" Nightrcrawler said.

"Excuse me?" Jean said.

"My dad said fags are demons that get sent back to hell. He keeps calling me one and he says that the devil will come and get me in my sleep, but I keep looking in the mirror and I don't see anything that makes me look like a demon." Josh said.

Everyone just stood and stared at him with disbelief.

"Josh, do you know what gay means?" Cyclops asked. Josh shook his head.

"There are many definitions of the word, one is being very happy, another is a very rude variation of the word because some people use it to call other people stupid, but you're not stupid are you?"

"I don't think so." Josh said.

"Another special version of the word means to be attracted to the same gender as you." Cyclops said

"What does that mean?" Josh asked

Jean sat down next to Josh.

"Have you ever felt a chill going all over your body that felt good whenever you saw another boy, or another man?" Jean asked. Josh hesitated, and then nodded his head.

"A few times, I would sneak my dad's Indiana Jones videos, but I wouldn't watch them."

"Vhy not, Indiana Jones is cool." Nightcrawler said.

"He is cool and I would sometimes watch them, but I couldn't stop staring at the cover of The Lost Ark. I would pause the movies all the time at certain spots and I didn't know why." Josh said.

"Did you find him good looking?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, kind of." Josh replied.

"Did you feel that chill whenever you looked at him?" Scott asked.

"Yeah." Josh replied.

"Scott." Jean said covering Josh's ears. "This is kind of a little girl talk." She whispered.

"Oh, right." Cyclops said. Jean uncovered Josh's ears.

"That chill that you felt, it's how I felt when I saw a cute boy I liked." Jean said. Josh stared at the floor.

"Does fag mean what you just said, me being attracted to another boy?" He asked. Jean nodded her head and placed her hand on Josh's shoulder as if trying to comforting him.

"Yes, but most people say that about boys and girls, and men and women who are like you because they're scared of people who are different than them, so they say words like that to make them feel bad about who they are." Jean said. Josh then put his head down, his eyes facing the floor.

"I felt that chill, towards this one boy I met in school."

"Shut the fuck up!" A voice called out.

"Vhat was that?!" Nightcrawler yelled.

"Oh no, we made him mad." Josh said. "You all have to go, now!"

"Wait, made who mad? Who are you talking about?" Cyclops said. Just then the entire area started to shake violently. And the darkness lifted to show a torn apart house that looked like it was recently burnt, but it was enormous. The X-Men and Josh were no bigger than action figures in comparison.

"My dad." Josh said.

Just then a giant man wearing jeans, a pallid shirt, and boots appeared. He had red eyes, light brown hair, a small bushy beard, and sharp teeth. He looked furious and looking for blood.

"I will not have you put these ideas in my son's head and turn him into some dirty cock sucker." He shouted.

**End of chapter 5**


	6. Chapter 6

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**Chapter 6: Retribution part 2**

The X-Men were struck with awe and fear of the sight of the drooling, red eyed giant in front of them.

"Alright guys just like the danger room. We hit fast and we hit hard, but we do it carefully and with a battle strategy." Cyclops said as Carl's hand slammed the ground where they were standing. They all scattered in different directions. Cyclops opened his visor and opened his eyes, but his optic blasts weren't firing.

"Hey, my eyes!" Cyclops said.

"Zey shoot red energy blasts vhenever you open your eyes, vhat about zem?" Nightcrawler said.

"They're not firing." Cyclops said.

"How can that be?" Jean asked.

"I don't know." Cyclops said before taking a brief glance at Nightcrawler. "Kurt, why did you turn on your image inducer?"

"I didn't. Vhy are you asking?" Nightcrawler asked.

"Look at your hands." Cyclops said. Nightcrawler looked at his hands and gaped. It was his more human appearance that shows when his image producer is turned on, but he was still wearing his uniform.

"Mein gott." He said.

Cyclops took off his visor and opened his eyes again, nothing happened.

"What is going on?" He thought.

"Scott!" Jean shouted. Cyclops turned around and Carl was going after Jean.

"Get away from her!" Cyclops shouted.

"Why, so you can have her all to yourself? She could never want a small thing like you when she can have a real man like me." He said.

"Jean, get yourself and Josh out of there!" Cyclops said.

"I can't, my powers are gone!" Jean said.

"Kurt teleport them out of here." Cyclops said.

"I can't, my powers are not vorking either." Nightcrawler said.

Cyclops looked over at Carl as he grabbed Jean in his hand.

"Let me go!" Jean screamed.

"Not yet red, we're gonna have a swell time, just you, me, and my bedroom." Carl said.

"Daddy please don't hurt her, she's really nice." Josh said.

"Stay out of this Josh." Carl said.

"But daddy…" Josh said. Carl then grabbed Josh in his hand and slightly squeezed him hard.

"What the hell did you say?" Carl said rapidly flicking Josh in the face with his enormous fingers. "You do what your father says and you don't get your ass beat, you pathetic little shit."

Josh was screaming and crying. "Dad please stop!" He pleaded.

"Stop crying you little pansy, be a man and stop crying like a pathetic fag." Carl said before flicking him in the head once more. Josh lowered his head and was really silent.

"Good boy." Carl said tossing Josh's body in the air, which landed on the ground with a hard thud.

"Bastard!" Cyclops shouted. "He was your son, your own flesh and blood, and you killed him. You shouldn't be allowed to call yourself a father!" Carl slammed his hand on the ground really hard, the shockwave knocking both Cyclops and Nightcrawler out.

"Scott!" Jean shouted.

"No one tells me how to handle my kid, especially a little shit like you." Carl said before looking at Jean again. "Now where were we red?"

"Josh, wake up!" Jean said. He didn't move.

"Josh!" She shouted. He still didn't move.

"JOSH!" She screamed.

Just then Josh's body started to glow with a luminescent blue flame. His body started to age and grow, his hair changing from a brown chestnut color to jet black. "My name isn't Josh." He said before opening his eyes to reveal glowing blue eyes. "I am Ripley and don't you fucking forget it!"

**End of chapter six.**


	7. Chapter 7

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_**Italic= Flashback**_

**Bold=Demon Voice**

**AN: Sorry this chapter took so long to post; I had a really large writer's block and a loss of ability to type because of my computer and its internet. But now I have some new chapters in the making and I finally finished this one. So without any further ado, here's chapter seven. **

**Chapter 7: A child's retribution part 3**

There was nothing but black all over the place. All he remembered is that Jean was in danger, and that Josh, a gay little boy trying to escape his homophobic father, was killed by him. "Bastard, how could he do that to his own son for being different?" Cyclops said to himself. Just then he saw a bright light and it looked like it was a way out. He rushed eagerly towards the light and heard Jean Grey screaming. "Jean!" He shouted, forcing himself awake. He looked all around and saw the giant Carl holding Jean in his hand, both of them staring at a bright light. He looked to where Josh's body was supposed to be, and it wasn't there. He looked right upwards and there was Ripley, engulfed in a bright dark blue fire. His eyes glowing a luminescent blue, which slowly consumed his head. "Josh… is Ripley?" Cyclops thought

(Flashback)

_It was an average day at school, and Duncan was beating on Ripley, both physically and verbally, and no one had the bravado or the decency to stop and help. Just then out of the blue, Scott Summers appeared and pulled Duncan off of Ripley._

_"Mathews, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Scott shouted._

_"This little queer has been talking back to me, so I thought I would roughen him up a bit to make him think about the next time he decides to give me lip." Duncan said._

_"You can't do that Duncan. You can't 'discipline' people whenever they tell you to back off." Scott said._

_Duncan started walking towards Ripley, but then Scott stepped in front of him._

_"Get out of my way Summers." Duncan said._

_"That's enough Duncan. I 'm not letting you anywhere near him." Scott said._

_"Move, or get a face full of knuckle sandwiches." Duncan said._

_"What is going on here?" A voice called out. Everyone turned and there was principal Darkholme with her arms crossed. "Well? I'm awaiting an explanation."_

_"Nothing was going on here ma'am. Just teaching Ripley here a few wrestling moves." Duncan said._

_Darkholme looked over at Ripley and noticed his torn lip._

_"All the way out here in the hallway, outside of class?" She said with a raised brow._

_"It was just a fun little activity to get Ripley prepared for class." Duncan said. Principal Darkholme walked over to Ripley and grabbed his shoulders, helping him up._

_"It must be an intense gym class if Coach Mccoy is allowing you to shed blood from other classmates. And outside of class as well." Darkholme said._

_"He isn't, he's a cool guy. He doesn't work us too hard." He said_

_"Well then, please explain to me why poor Ripley here has a torn and bleeding lip." She said with her hands on Ripley's shoulders._

_"Get off me." Ripley said shoving her hands off and standing up abruptly. "I don't need help, nor do I want it. At first I did, but everyone is too concerned with whatever sport the school's team is playing to pay any attention to the victim of systematic abuse by the biggest douche of a quarterback, so everyone can just leave me the hell alone and Duncan…"_

_Duncan looked sharply at Ripley and vice versa._

_"I sincerely hope that one day you wind up under a bridge somewhere, cold, miserable, and rotting away into less than the nothing you are now, and live just a bit longer to feel the pain of it all."_

_He rushed speedily out of the building._

_"Mathews." Darkholme said. "Detention, two weeks."_

"_Come one principal Darkholme, I have practice before and after school."_

"_Not for the next two weeks you don't, now get to class, all of you." _

(Current events)

"Now I understand why our powers aren't working, why Kurt looks the way he does, we're inside Ripley's mind, and we're seeing ourselves as see we see ourselves in our mind. But why did Ripley call himself Josh and appear as a small boy?" Cyclops said.

(Ripley's P.O.V.)

I didn't know what the hell was going on, who I was or what I've been doing. I remember nothing, but a glassy haze, and suddenly someone, a girl, was shouting a name at me, the name I was born with. "Josh, Josh, Josh" her voice kept saying, but that isn't my name, I hate that name, but hearing it made the blur go away and I was bursting with power, that power now clearly seen was making the strangers in the room, these X-Men gaze in awe, and making my abusive father look about ready to shit himself. And in that moment I said my true name aloud so that no one, not even me could ever forget it.

"You shut your mouth you little queer." Carl said.

**"No, you can't make me, not anymore Carl."** I said.

"What did you say?" Carl shouted.

**"You heard me, you wanna make something of it fat ass?"** I shouted back.

Carl gave a mighty roar of anger before chucking Jean at me. I raised my hand and she stopped in midair. I slowly put my hand down and Jean followed where my hand went, with Jean landing on the ground slowly and gently.

**"Run, now."** I said. Jean did as I told and ran towards Cyclops and Nightcrawler.

Carl charged off at me and swung a fist at me.

"I'll show you some respect." He shouted. I dodged the fist and flew around behind him.

**"Oh, like the respect you showed me?"** I said. Carl turned around and threw a whole bunch of rapid punches at me. I dodged them all as fast as I could. **"Calling me names, beating me up, leaving me alone by myself to rot? That's your idea of respect? You obscene ass, you don't know the meaning of the word."** I said.

"Shut up!" Carl shouted. He swung his arm at me and it hit me. I was flung violently to the ground, but strangely it didn't hurt.

**"You have no power over me Carl. All this time I thought you did, but now I just realized something delicious, I have the power over you, you're terrified of me. And that is the greatest revelation I, or anyone else, could ever have. "**I said. Carl punched me, and I was expecting it to hurt like all the other times, but again I felt nothing and call me crazy, but it looked like he was shrinking.

_(Flashback)_

_I was walking home from school Duncan had beaten me up again and split my lip open. I couldn't stand to think of what crappy insult Carl would give me for getting in a fight, and losing. "Hey Ripley, wait up!" Someone called out. I turned around and there was Scott Summers running towards me._

_"What do you want Summers?" I asked._

_"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, you got beat up pretty bad." He said._

_"Hm, it seems you're the first to care." I asked._

_"I also wanted to tell you that Mathews just got two weeks of detention, but Principal Darkholme also gave you a few days of detention for ditching. I also heard she's going to keep a sharper eye on his actions." He answered._

_"It won't make a difference; he'll just keep beating on me no matter what happens. This is just fuel for his little fire." I said._

_"It would make a difference if maybe you actually tried." Scott said. I looked him square in the eye._

_"What do you think I haven't? Where the hell have you been? I have tried, many times I tried to be humane and decent enough to make him stop, I told my father about this, but he just hits me and tells me to fight back. And even if I could, if I had the ability or the balls to, I don't think I could. Sometimes I'm a little bold in my words, but I can't fight, I won't." I said._

_"Why? If you could fight, then why would you not want to? You could show Mathews that you aren't weak, show your dad that you can fight back?" Scott asked._

_"One: I don't believe violence solves things, two: I know that I am strong because I choose not to fight, and I don't care what my dad thinks of me, I'll always be nothing more than the stupid, worthless faggot to him no matter what I do." I said._

_"But you're not gay, are you?" Scott said. I looked at Scott with a look of content, I wanted to tell him the truth, but he wouldn't have understood, and I feared that he would spur and reject me like everyone else has my entire life. I looked behind me and there was my house._

_"Well here we are, home sweet home." I said walking with haste towards the door._

_"Ripley..." Scott said. I turned around and for a brief moment, I thought I could see his eyes through those red shades of his. "It's okay to be who you are, don't let anyone tell you that who you are, is wrong. You are you, and no one can tell you otherwise. "He said. When he said those words I felt my body tremble and tears started forming in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away so he wouldn't see them. I walked up to the door and turned around._

_"Scott." I shouted. He turned around and I looked into those red shades of his. "Thank you." Suddenly the door opened behind me and there was Carl with an angry look on his face. "Get in here." Carl said grabbing me and forcing me in the door._

(Current events)

**"I don't know why I let you treat me like your bitch for all this time Carl, because the way that I 'm feeling right now, made me realize a few things."** I said punching him away, he shrunk a little bit more.

"I will not take this from you, you faggot!" He shouted jumping back to his feet and running towards me.

**"Ooooohhh, faggot, how original. You should get an academy award for that one. An award for the most less original and crappy insults in the book award next to Bette Davis, and I have no idea who that is. Did you know your pathetic insults mean nothing to me anymore? It just shows how insecure you are. Tell me Carl did you bully other kids to make yourself seem like the biggest dick? Were you abused as well?"** I asked. Carl held up a fist and was about to hit me, but I flew swiftly out of the way and he hit the ground instead.

"I told you to shut the fuck up!" He shouted.

**"Well technically you only said 'shut up' and the word `faggot' but I really don't really care how you said it, I refuse to comply. I will not do anything you tell me ever again!"** I said tossing blue fire at Carl's face. He screamed in pain before running into my fist with his face.

"I'M BLIND!" Carl screamed, shrinking a lot more. He was about four or maybe five feet taller than me now, still pretty tall, but not as tall as he was before. Even though he still towered over me like he has done my whole life to this point, he looked rather pathetic.

**"Aw, poor baby. Pathetic weakling pounded into submission and shoved into lockers, turned drunken blunt simpleton, now blind. How amusing"** I said mockingly. **"Why don't I put you out of your misery."** I began pounding on Carl with every amount of fury that was locked in my soul. At the same time flashes of the past kept bombarding me, most of referring to Carl's sadistic hold over me.

**"This is for the beatings!"** I shouted punching him rapidly, flashes of Carl beating me up flashed at me.

**"This is for the names you graciously gave me."** I said burning the skin on his limbs, more flashes of Carl and me, him shouting at me and me crying.

**"And this..."**I said, my fingers shifting into a large claw "...is** for my sad, angry little misfit life. You scum sucking son of a bitch."**

"Please Josh, don't do this. Please forgive me for being a shitty father!" Carl begged. He was now a couple of feet shorter than me. If I thought he looked pathetic before, he now looked lower than the dirt vermin crawl through.

**"Aw, begging, how touching. Reminds me of the other times you showed me mercy when you didn't beat me, oh wait..."**I said grabbing him by the throat. **"...you did nothing of the sort!"** I shouted readying my claws for the final blow.

"Ripley! "Cyclops shouted. I looked behind me and there was Cyclops taking off his visor, revealing to me the face of Scott Summers. "You don't have to do this. He's powerless and weak, you won."

**"No Scott, it won't be over until I see him die."** I said.

"Why? You have beaten him down and stood up for yourself, you can stop." He said.

**"I can't. Until he's gone and out of my life for good, I can't ever stop."**

"Just walk away Ripley; you're better than this guy. You can prove that right now that his hateful influence didn't affect you permanently, that you can walk away and not be even worse to him or anyone else then he was to you. I know you can do that."

I turned back towards Carl and looked at his pathetic little face. He looked so frightened, so beautifully scared of impending doom. It was the exact same look I had on my face when I was younger. My arm with my claws began shaking, I wanting to charge them into something, into someone, but Summer's words were still ringing around in my head like a bee. I screamed once and lunged my claws to the ground besides him. I looked to him, and he had a look of confusion, fear, and relief in his eyes. Inside my heart I still felt deep hatred, but at the same time a feeling of despair. I remembered what had happened to him, what I had already done to him, what I almost did to him just now. I knelt down to face Carl.

"**You were already dead to me the moment you struck me the first time, but I know better now to remember that you really are dead, and you know that too don't you?" **I said. He hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly. "**Carl, what you did to me was beyond forgivable, and I will never ever forgive you for the things you have done to me." **The fire blazing from my body died down and disappeared as I looked deep into his eyes. "But I am sorry for what I did to you, and for what I was about to do to you. I honestly didn't want this to happen to you, I thought I did, but it wouldn't have happened, not on purpose or by my hand, it wasn't my choice about your fate. I couldn't spare your life, but I can spare your soul the same pain."

"Does this mean…" Carl said.

"Not by a fucking longshot. I forgive the world for not listening to me, but I will never forgive you for what you've done to me all those years. Maybe one day I will be able to, but for the moment, I just can't."

Carl looked down at the ground. "Who would blame you? I treated you like shit, I ignored you, and I beat you." He said with tears welling in his eyes. "I know my words probably don't mean much, but I just want you to know that… I'm sorry Josh. I'm really, really sorry."

Suddenly a bright light appeared behind Carl. I covered my eyes at first, but then the light dimmed down a bit so that everyone could see it. It had the shape of what appeared to be a large door made out of light. I then realized that this was most likely Carl's door to paradise. He got up and looked at it and turned to look at me.

"Is this…" He said.

"It could be, but honestly there is only one way to find out." I said with a shrug.

Carl walked cautiously towards the door of light before abruptly stopping.

"I just realized something." He said. I looked at him waiting for him to say what he had to say. "I just realized that from the moment you were born, I hardly held you. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever had. Josh, will you come here for a minute?" I couldn't move. My abusive father actually wanted to hug me? "Please?" I strongly hesitated and looked back at the X-Men and Scott nodded his head assuring me to go ahead. I moved slowly towards Carl until I was really close to him. He then grabbed me, pulled me towards him, and wrapped his arms around me in a large hug. I then felt tears wanting to leave my eyes, I tried forcing them back, but they broke through and I felt myself begin to cry. I wrapped my arms around my large father and hugged him back as my emotions got the best of me.

"What're you crying for, huh?" Carl said with tears flowing down his own face. I couldn't answer, I was sobbing too much to answer, not that I had an answer, I couldn't really explain it. He was my constant tormenter and I hated him for as long as I could remember, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel even a bit of love for him. I didn't know how to tell him or express that because he didn't do that for me. I don't know if it was vindication or if I had just forgotten how to show him I still loved him, even though he treated me horribly, I still loved him because he was my father, in his own twisted and messed up way, and I couldn't help, but loving him. After a couple of minutes of hugging and crying, we finally separated and walked in separate directions with me going towards the X-Men, and Carl going to the door.

"Hey Carl?" I said. He turned around to face me. "When you get there, tell mom I said 'hi', and good luck." He nodded and he entered the door. The door's light then flashed really bright and flooded the entire area with a brilliant flash.

"Vat's going on?" Nightcrawler said.

"I don't know." Scott said.

"Scott where are you, I can't see you."

"I can't either, everyone don't get separated."

I felt really strange, but I knew that feeling. It felt like I was about to wake up from a bad dream.

"Everyone calm down. Just close your eyes, it will be okay." I said closing my own eyes, the light still penetrating my eye lids. I then felt myself getting whisked away by some sort of wind, and then there was nothing but darkness, and a powerful feeling of something serene and pure, peace, real, divine peace.

**End of Chapter Seven.**

**AN: Next chapter Ripley meets Professor Xavier and the rest of the X-men, and will he join them? And what of Ripley's love Kyle? Read the next chapter and find out.**


	8. Chapter 8

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Italic= Telepathic Communication/Thought _

**Chapter 8: Awakening part 1**

In this peaceful darkness, it felt as if I were in a large comfortable bed, in my lover's arms. I haven't exactly felt this experience firsthand, but if I had, it would resemble something like this. I felt that nothing could touch me, to hurt me or otherwise. I wanted to stay like this, for however long eternity was, for me anyway. But then I heard a voice calling my name.

"David?" It said. Right as I heard it, a light pierced the darkness and I felt myself awaken, slowly. My eyes were narrowed because there were a lot of lights in the room I woke up to and they irritated them. "Hello young man." The voice said again. I looked to my left and my eyes could only see what appeared to be a bald man sitting down.

"Um…hello." I said fidgeting a bit. I felt like I was in a hospital bed or something, only it was a bit more comfortable, I was also wearing hospital robes or something that resembled them.

"I understand that your eyes must hurt, the others were not unconscious as long as you were, so your eyes are adjusting to the lights."

"Speaking of which, would you mind turning some of them off?"

"Of course, Logan if you would?" Just then a few lights shut off and I saw a gruff looking guy leaving the room.

"Who was that, and who are you?" I said.

"That was Logan, he is one of the adult members of the X-Men, and I am Professor Charles Xavier the founder of this institute and the X-Men." He said.

"X-Men, huh? Wait you said there were others?"

"Yes, you remember them? They saved your life, or rather you saved theirs. They said you held your own against quite a threat and they said you took care of it, rather well in fact."

"Are they around here? I would like to see them."

"In all due time, but first I have a few questions for you."

I sat up straight and put my hands on my lap. "Alright, shoot."

"Have you heard about mutants?"

"I don't think so, but you have my attention, what are they?"

"They are people who are born with extraordinary abilities beyond those of normal human beings."

"What like, people who can put their feet behind their heads or flip their eyelids inside out?"

He chuckled at my comment.

"No, I meant people who possess a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows him or her to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities."

"Are you a mutant?"

"_Yes I am David, and so are you."_

Hearing his voice in my head caught me completely off guard, I was awe struck.

"_Holy shit." _I thought_. _Xavier then looked at me with a raised brow.

"_Sorry."_

"_That's alright, I have heard worse."_

"So wait, you said I'm a mutant too?"

"Yes."

"What can I do?"

"I don't really know. Scott told me you have a powerful telepathic mind like my own, but extremely unorthodox and unstable as he told me. Plus it appears you have a form of pyrokinesis, of which I've never seen or heard of in my life."

"Have you seen other people with fire powers before?"

"Yes, but the fire you were producing was as the X-Men said 'cold, but hot at the same time.'"

"Okay…that makes no sense at all."

"I agree, which is why we will test your powers when your strength comes back and you full adjust to the institute. Until then I recommend you rest."

"Before I think of rest, I would like to know how long I was out."

"You were out for approximately two and a half days."

My eyes went wide and I nearly bolted out of the bed.

"Excuse me?! Two days?! What the hell happened during that time? Did Kyle ever call? I need to call him right now, he must be going crazy!" I said.

"Calm down David. Who is this Kyle person?" Xavier said.

"_Oops!"_ I thought.

"He's… a special friend of sorts. Has he come by at all? He has blonde hair and blue eyes and he always wears a white hoodie…"

Xavier suddenly got this look on his face that made me suspect something was wrong.

"What is it?" He didn't answer. "What's wrong Xavier?" He still didn't answer. "Oh I see how it is; you read my mind and discovered 'the truth' about my relationship with Kyle. Yes he's my boyfriend alright? I'm gay and I'm in a relationship and though I'm not happy most of the time, but at least I'm still happy some of the time at least because of him. And while you're snooping through my mind like a rat, here's something for you." I said imagining something extremely vulgar. "There, how'd you like that, huh? Damn that felt good."

"David, they found someone with that description in the rubble of what was your home."

"What are you talking about what happened to my…" I then remembered something. I remembered being at my house with Kyle, we were arguing and then my head started hurting. Suddenly I was on fire and Kyle freaked out, he tried to run away. But then I froze him in his place somehow, like I hit a pause button on him or something. Carl was coming up, he heard the noise and in a panic I hid Kyle in my closet. And then Carl shoved me down the stairs for talking back, and then my body lit up, and I heard that explosion.

"Oh god." I said with my eyes wide open. Suddenly the room started shaking.

"David calm down." Xavier said.

"I hurt Kyle, the one person I really loved. I love him and I hurt him and now I killed him." I said with tears flowing down my face. "He's dead isn't he?"

"No David, please calm down. He's safe and alive, but…"

"But what, spit it out!" I said feeling the fire sprout from my body.

"He's comatose."

"Did they say when will he wake up?"

"The doctors can't really say, they diagnosed him as clinically brain dead." My heart fell right into my stomach and I closed my eyes. I then felt a rush and I felt myself getting lifted and pushed someplace else, where it would be I didn't know and I didn't care. I just felt a strong need to be where Kyle was, to be where he was, hold his hand, and never let go. I opened my eyes and I was standing in front of a hospital.

"_How the hell did I get here?" _ I thought. I then thought of how I felt when I appeared there. _"This is where Kyle is."_

I ran into the building without any cares or consent. I just had to see Kyle, I had to. I inside to the check-out/check-in counter, there was a woman typing up something.

"Excuse me, could you direct me to a Mr. Kyle Daniels' room please?" I said.

"Are you family?" She asked.

"Yes, now can you please take me to him?" She looked up at me and got this confused look on her face.

"Are you a patient here? I don't think we have you registered here."

"Does it matter? Now please can you get me to Kyle?"

"I need to make a call."

I didn't notice it, but my eyes were glowing like little headlights on a toy car.

"Tell me where Kyle is, now."

The woman's eyes flashed once before a smile crept across her face.

"Room 214, on the second floor, fourth door on your left sir."

"Umm… okay. Thank you very much." I said with a confused look on my face breaking to the elevator.

"_What was that about? Did I make her tell me where he was?" _I thought. _"Must be part of my telepathy, and I wonder why my powers come only at the strangest of times." _Without any other thought I ran right into the elevator and pushed the button. The music that was playing made me almost want to sway, but not today. I just wanted to hold my boyfriend's hand and tell him, everything. When the elevator stopped I ran right out and right to the room's entrance. The sight before made my heart drop and made my stomach feel sick. There was Kyle wrapped in bandages around his upper body and arms up to his neck. His beautiful blonde hair was a tangled sweaty mess, and his wonderful little face was covered with bumps and bruises and he had a horrible looking shiner on his left eye. He was also connected to a bunch of tubes that appeared to be helping him breathe. I walked slowly into the room, with a small constant feeling like I didn't want to wake up someone was sleeping, even though I knew that waking him was close to impossible right now. I took a chair and sat next to his bedside, taking a hold on one of his hands.

"Kyle, baby?" I said hoping that he could hear me. "It's me." I looked at his face and I felt myself about to cry. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, for all of it. I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me, I'm sorry for keeping us a secret and being too damn vain and angry to deal with my feelings." Tears were streaming down my face. " I was just trying to protect us, protect you, from all the shit people like Duncan throw at people like us. I tried so hard not to hurt you, but I instead did the opposite. I hurt you, I frightened you, and I might as well have damned near killed you. I can't explain this, what's happened to me, other that I'm a bigger freak than I could have thought and I don't deserve you. You are by a longshot, the best person I have ever met, and I love you so much, but you're too good to me. I'm so sorry for doing this to you." I leaned over to his forehead and kissed it.

"David." A voice said. I looked to the door, and there was Xavier, Scott, and Jean standing in the doorway. "Let him rest, I'm sure he will awaken given time."

"I can't leave him alone." I said.

"He won't be alone Ripley, he has people taking care of him around the clock 24/7. He'll be taken care of, and he will be awake… after a little while, but until then there will be doctors and nurses that will be here for him." Scott said. I looked at Kyle with tears welling in my eyes. I kissed him on the head once more and caressed his cheek with my hand.

"I promise I will come by every day, come hell or high water." I said. I then stood up from my chair and walked to the door and left the room alongside the X-Men.

**End of Chapter 8**


	9. Chapter 9

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Italics= Thoughts, Telepathic Communication, Radio/T.V._

**Chapter 9: Awakening part 2**

When we left the hospital, we all walked to this really luxurious looking black limo.

"_Holy swagger, Batman." _I thought. We arrived at the car and I looked through the window and that gruff guy Logan was in the driver's seat. He gave a slight glance at me, and I at him before he turned his head forward at the road. I opened the door and entered the car, everyone else followed after me; Xavier sat in the front passenger seat. Logan started the car and I looked back at the hospital as the car drove out of the driveway. For most of the drive it was quiet until Scott spoke up.

"So…Ripley how long have you been dating Kyle?" He said. I looked at him with a kind of irritated look on my face.

"A while." I said.

"How long is a while?"

"As long as I feel like discussing right now." Scott shrugged his shoulders and I continued to stare out the window. I also took a few looks at Logan to try and study him. He was obviously one of those types of guys, the guys who liked motorcycles and cheap booze, the kind in my fantasies before I met Kyle that I could really like. I leaned over next to Grey.

"Hey, is this Logan guy like Xavier's care taker/ limo driver or something?" I asked.

"Sometimes, the mansion is kind of low on staff and tenants. You're pretty much looking at the only residents in the mansion."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, did you say a mansion?" Jean gave a smile and nodded.

The rest of the ride was silent before the vehicle began to slow down. I looked out the window and I saw a large gate standing in front of an even bigger mansion with a fountain with what appeared to be an angel in the center of the front yard.

"_Oh, no way!" _I thought. And sure enough the gates opened and the limo entered the gates proceeding towards the mansion.

"Are you kidding me?" I said with my mouth wide open.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Scott said. I couldn't answer, but it was clear what my silent awe was saying. We stopped in front of the front door and Scott opened up the door and everyone walked out of the limo one by one. Xavier seemed to get out easily, even when confined to a wheelchair. I looked at the entrance and I couldn't believe how much bigger it was up close. I knew Scott and Grey lived at some institute for the "gifted" or whatever, but I never knew the place would be this huge.

"Hey Ripley, you want to go inside?" Scott said. I turned around with a smile.

"Yes!" I said loudly. I squirmed and cleared my throat. "I mean, yes, I would love to."

Scott held the doors open for everyone and we all walked in. I stopped walking and started gazing around the main hall with a large staircase and a chandelier hanging on the ceiling.

"Oh, wow." I said. I turned around to see Xavier wheeling in.

"What do you think David?" Xavier asked.

"This place is just so… wow professor. This place is simply beyond my words." I said.

"Thank you."

Jean took a slight nudge at Scott.

"Scott, have you noticed that Ripley's attitude just brightened up spontaneously?" Jean whispered.

"Yeah, I guess… knowing that Kyle is safe and alive more or less, and getting out of his situation safe and alive himself has had a great impact on him. And what happened with his dad…" Scott whispered.

"I know, it's like he's suddenly a new person, and I feel so happy for him." Suddenly there was a little noise that sounded like "BAMF" and a smell of something putrid and burnt and there was this fuzzy demon looking thing standing there.

"I feel happy myself, for getting out of zhere alive, for all of us getting out alive." He said.

"Holy crap!" I shouted making him jump.

"Geez man, vhat's your deal?" He said.

"Sorry, you just startled me. Wait a minute; you're that guy with the cool accent who helped me aren't you?" I said walking over to him. "But, you're blue, and fuzzy, and is that a tail I see back there?" He then got kind of a slightly depressed look on his face.

"I know, pretty freaky, huh?" He said with a bad chuckle.

"No, it's actually pretty cool, and in my opinion, in the best of times, strange is super cool." I said. Saying that perked him up a lot.

"You really think so?" He asked.

"Of course he does Kurt." Xavier said. "Because of David's sexual orientation, he feels the kind of fear of discrimination that other mutants such as us feel, like you because of your unique appearance."

"Orientation?" Kurt repeated. Everyone else kind of gave him a long stare, while I was kind of blushing and holding my hands.

"Oh yeah… right." He said. "That's cool, I'm cool with that. Like you said Ripley, strange is cool not that I'm saying you're weird or anything."

"Whoa, calm down there fuzz ball. So I'm guessing that everyone in this house , including me, is a mutant?" I asked desperately trying not to giggle, and to change the subject quickly.

"Yes, everyone who seeks wisdom, and training in how to control their mutant powers, are welcome here at the institute. For as long as I can remember, there have been new mutants appearing from what seems like nowhere all over the world. Some are mutants with good intentions who feel that mutants can live in peace, while others feel that force and fear need to be used for that peace to happen. I hope for peace to be from showing the world that we can coexist with humans without fear."

"But there are mutants out there who are threats to many lives, I mean look at what I did. I blew up my home, killed my father, and put my boyfriend in a coma. God that feels so weird saying that out loud." I said.

"I understand, but this is what this institute is for, to help teach mutants to control their powers and find peace with them, while also teaching them to prepare for a hostile world."

"Hostile? I thought that kind of thing is what we were trying to avoid."

"Yes, but you see, once regular humans become aware of the presence of mutants, they will feel threatened by people who have abilities that transcend them. We hope that will never happen, but if it does, we want to be ready."

"But wait a minute, wouldn't fighting back just make things worse for mutants. I mean what if a mutant were to take out a few people by accident, or not, and people start blowing everyone the hell up?"

"We have the right to defend ourselves if we get hit." Scott said.

"How? By sicking mutants on humans, which eventually leads to a vise versa?"

"Like I have said, that is the exact thing we wish to avoid." Xavier said. "If we must, we will fight back, liberally so, and explain that we are just normal people with just few different characteristics than others, like everyone else."

"One person isn't exactly like the next person they encounter, that sort of thing?"

"Exactly." Xavier said.

"I suppose that makes sense." I said before yawning.

"Why don't we show you to a room, all this has been a lot to take in." Jean said.

"Agreed. Jean, why don't you and Scott show David to his room?" Xavier said.

"Are you kidding, it's not even dusk. The day's still…"I said before yawning again.

"The strain of the events two days ago are still lingering, you need more rest." Xavier said.

"_It's amazing that even after sleeping for two whole days, I can still get tired." _I thought.

"Maybe a little nap would be nice." I said.

"Come on, let's get you set up." Scott said leading me to the staircase.

"You mean, I can stay here?" I said with hopeful eyes at Xavier.

"Of course, we always have room for a new student, and a new mutant in need here." He said smiling.

A large smile crept across my face. "Thank you so much, but wait all my stuff was in my house." I said.

"We'll replace the material possessions you lost, or what we can." Xavier said.

"Thank you, but wait a minute, won't people wonder where I went? There had to be a report."

"Ve made everyone think that you got hurt in the explosion, and vith novhere else to go, ve had you bunk here." Kurt said.

"You can do that? How?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Because ve're the X-Men and ve're awesome."

"Come on; let us worry about that stuff. Let's get you to your room so you can rest." Scott said putting a hand on my shoulder and leading me up the stairs with Jean behind us.

"Oh Professor?" I said turning my head. Xavier turned back at me too.

"Yes David?" He asked.

"Could you call me Ripley please? My name is David Ripley, but I like to be called just Ripley. I've always been known as Ripley and in a weird way; I've learned to like it. So if you wouldn't mind, could you and everyone else just call me Ripley please?" I said. He slightly raised a brow, but quickly went back to a normal expression.

"Of course, Ripley." He said. I smiled a bit and Scott, Jean, and I continued up the stairs. I didn't notice, but Logan walked into the main hall and saw Xavier with a curious face. Scott and Jean led me through the hallways, there seemed to be a lot of them.

"Damn, has anyone ever gotten lost in these halls." I asked. Jean giggled a bit.

"No, but don't worry. Once you get to know the place, you'll know where everything is." She said. We walked a bit until we stopped in front of a door.

"Here you are, home sweet home." Scott said opening the door. Inside there was a large queen size bed with small tables beside the head with lamps and an alarm clock on the right the table, also there was a large desk, a large dresser with a mirror, and a clear glass door which I could see leading to a balcony.

"Oh…my…god." I said with my mouth wide open. I walked in and looked around.

"Exactly how we all reacted." Scott said.

"We'll just let you get settled in, and let you sleep. If you need anything, you can call us." Jean said.

"Thank you. Oh, thank you God!" I shouted.

"I think he likes the room." Scott said. Scott and Jean began to walk away.

"Wait!" I said. They stopped and turned around. I ran to them and wrapped an arm around each of them.

"Thank you guys so much." I said with tears flowing down my eyes. "For saving me. I don't know if I would be alive if it wasn't for you guys. You were the ones who always noticed me when I was getting picked on, and you always came to my rescue when I really needed it, even when I didn't show any gratitude. Thank you both so much. " Jean put her hand on my back, and Scott put and over my shoulder.

"It's no problem. We're just glad to have helped you." Jean said.

"And we're happy to have you with us. Now you should probably get some rest like the Professor said" Scott said. I let go of them and gave Scott a little kiss on the cheek. He blushed a bright red for a bit.

"Give that to Kurt and say thank you to him for me would you?" I said.

"Um…. uh…. "Scott stammered.

"I'll give it to him for you, alright?" Jean said with an amused smile on her face.

"Thanks." I said.

"We'll see you later. Sleep well Ripley." Jean said.

"Thanks." I said before she closed the door.

I looked at the bed and there was a large box laying on it. I walked over to the bed and opened it up. Inside there looked to be an outfit of some sort, with long black boots and gloves that kind of resembled gauntlets. I also saw a black belt with a red buckle that had a black "X" on it. I took the suit out of the box and held it in front of me. It was a black full body suit with a large red "X" spreading across the torso which went around to the back. I looked at it through the mirror at myself.

"_Hm, all I need now is a cape, or maybe a cloak that would be kind of cool. But then I think people would mistake the outfit for a bad Martian Manhunter cosplay, if they even know who that is. Naw, if they don't know who it is it doesn't really matter." _I thought. I placed the suit in the box as neat as I could and put it all near the bed. I then walked over to the dresser and opened the drawers. Inside there were a few shirts, pants, underwear, sock, pajama's, etc, that were my size.

"_Sweet, I can change out of these."_ I thought. I then saw my hair. I remember it being a dark brownish color, now it was completely jet black. _Guess this is part of my mutation." _ I thought as I got out of the hospital shirt and shorts I was wearing and got a pair of pjs and a white shirt on. I went to the balcony door and shut the shades on it and the large window, then laid down on the bed and put my head on a pillow.

"_Mmmm, this is so nice." _I thought before looking at the sun peeking through the shades.

"_Goodnight Kyle." _ I thought before falling to sleep.

**Meanwhile (After Jean and Scott closed the door.)**

Jean shut the door to Ripley's room and both she and Scott walked back through the hallway.

"I think he likes you Scott." Jean said with a smile.

"W-what? Don't be crazy, he has a boyfriend remember?" Scott stammered.

"I know, calm down. I'm just joking with you Scott." Jean said laughing.

"I knew that." Scott said nervously. They both walked a few more steps before Jean spoke again.

"I feel so bad for Ripley. Getting basically tortured by his father and everyone else his entire life, just for being different." She said.

"I know. It's no wonder he was so angry all the time." Scott said.

"I didn't think he's the type of guy to get mad, I still don't. He's just been through a lot, you know?"

"Yeah, I really get a lot about him now, but I never knew that even though his world was completely chaotic, he could find someone to relieve some of it."

"It's always nice to have someone there like that. Kyle seems to always make Ripley feel better, with even just the sight of him. It's remarkable."

"You know what would make him feel even better?" Scott said with a smile and a raised brow. "Is if you gave Kurt that kiss you said you would give him." Jean flinched for a second.

"I think he asked you to give it to him Scott." She said.

"But, you said you would give it to him."

"And I am. I'm taking you to Kurt so that you can kiss him and tell him thanks for Ripley."

They both continued to argue about this for a while until later that night when they both went to bed.

**Meanwhile(In the main foyer while Ripley was getting settled in, and Jean and Scott's conversation.)**

Logan, or better known as Wolverine, walked into the main foyer and saw Professor Xavier with a curious look on his face.

"What's up chuck?" Logan asked.

"Davi…" He said before correcting himself. "Ripley's father's name was Carl Davidson."

"And the kid's name is David Ripley; yeah I found that kind of weird."

"As do I, I would think that it could be the mother's maiden name, but there are not any records about Ripley's mother or anyone else by blood or otherwise that is named Ripley."

"Maybe he just changed it to something that didn't want to remind him where he came from or what where he came from named him. What did he call himself when the kids were fishing around for Jean and him, Josh?"

"Yes, that is a valid reason, but the other thing that leaves me curious, is that his family isn't listed anywhere on his mother's side and the father's side in the court house files." He said.

"What are you sayin' Chuck?" Logan said.

"It would appear that he had no family besides Carl Davidson and his mother who has been allegedly deceased and owning fake pictures and items of other family, but there was evidence of other family in the remains of the house."

"So, someone hacked into Ripley's family files and pretty much destroyed his past?"

"All the answers are pointing to that being correct, but I don't know really know that for sure. I think for the moment we should quietly investigate this matter, but we shouldn't tell Ripley."

"Why not? I think the kid should know about what's going on."

"I do too, but at the moment things are very unorthodox, and telling him about this could cause him more grief, and I would rather that didn't happen."

Logan turned and walked a few steps before pulling out a cigar, lighting it, and pulling in a whiff before sighing the smoke out.

"I trust your judgment Charles, it doesn't feel right, but I do. I must ask though, when do we tell him about this?" He asked.

"When he has trained and matured a bit, by then I hope he can handle it." Xavier said.

"And I'm guessing that I'm gonna have to do all the field work until then?"

"Sometimes yes, but the rest of the time, Storm will accompany you when she can."

"So basically yes?" He said with a sarcastic smile.

"Can you handle it?" Logan gave inhaled another whiff of his cigar and breathed the smoke back out.

"Of course I can."

"Good, I think I could go for a bit of tea right now."

"Hm, something hot to drink sounds good to me, but I think I'll take coffee." Logan said before they both left the main hall.

**(Yes another) Meanwhile, in Principal Darkholme's office.**

In her office, acclaimed Principal Raven Darkholme sat in her office with something hot in a grey mug sitting on her desk and a small stack of paper in her hands. The radio was also turned on; classical music was playing before abruptly stopping.

"_Breaking News: The details about the explosion two days ago are finally revealed to us now." A male news reporter said. "Apparently the explosion was caused by gas lines that ran under the house and caught fire, when the house owner Carl Davidson, turned his gas stove on with a lit match. The only survivors noted were the now deceased Davidson's son Joshua Davidson, and his friend Kyle Daniels. Daniels is now in extensive care, but the hospital says that he is comatose and they don't know when he will awaken"._ Darkholme stopped fumbling with her papers for a moment and listened to the story. _"As for Joshua, his injuries are not as bad as his friend, but the hospital says that he is also comatose. But rather than let him stay at the hospital, Professor Charles Xavier from the Xavier Institute for Gifted Children, decided to take young Davidson in and nurse him back to health himself. The Professor had this to say. 'I have dedicated my life to helping children reach their potential, and taking them in when they have no place else to call home. When he awakens, I hope he can call the Xavier Institute a place he can call home.'_

Suddenly there was nothing but static on the radio and all the metallic objects in the room started moving around by themselves.

"Well, I must say I expected you to be here." Darkholme said with a smile. In the shadow of the room, a mysterious figure wearing long red cape, a large helmet, and piercing eyes was lurking.

"It has come to my attention that Xavier has taken in another new mutant; I strongly think this new one was the cause of the explosion. What a shame that he slipped between our fingers so easily. He could have been a great use to us." He said.

"You know what they say; there are always plenty of fish in the sea."

"I can't tolerate failure Mystique, not when I feel that we are so close to reaching our goals."

"Now, now, just be patient. It is a shame we lost M. Davidson, but I assure you we will get the next one who shows his or her powers." Darkholme said, her body shifting into a blue skinned woman with red hair and a darker blue and white dress.

"Be sure you do. I have risked a lot for this deal, and I will not have the work gone to waste." The figure said before disappearing. The woman Mystique then walked to the window after going back to her more human form and looked out the window with a mysterious smile creeping across her face.

**End of Chapter 9.**

**A/N: Oh my god, this chapter took so freaking long to do, but then again the others took longer to make so I think I can quit with the Wahs. So tell me, do you think Mystique and Magneto have something planned for Ripley? Please comment and no negative reviews please.**


	10. Chapter 10

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Italics= Dreams ,thoughts, telepathic communication_

**Bold= Demon voice**

**Chapter 10: First day at the Institute**

_I was running trying desperately to escape something horrible that I knew would get me if I didn't stop running. I couldn't see anything, there was sheer darkness all around me, but I knew that something was there, I heard its laughter and the hungry noises that it was making._

"_Stay away from me, leave me alone!" I shouted as I ran, my voice ringing through the blackness._

"_I thought you wanted me around." A hoarse sounding voice rang out._

"_No, I don't want you, I know that you'll kill me, I know it." I shouted. Suddenly I felt hands grab my face and a light filled the darkness, I shut my eyes so I wouldn't be blind. I opened my eyes and saw Kyle with various cuts, bruises, and burns covering his body. _

"_You almost killed me, so I think it's fair that I kill you before you finish the job." He said with a sadistic smile on his face and a large knife in his hand._

"_I didn't mean for that to happen baby, please, I'm sorry!" I shouted._

"_It's too late for sorry, baby." He said with a tear flowing down his cheek. He thrust the knife and held it high above his head. I tried to move, but I couldn't move, it was as if I was frozen and ropes were tied around my wrists and ankles._

"_No, no please let me go!" I screamed. "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"_

"_**No one helped me, now no one can help you." **__He said with a dark voice as he plunged the knife right at my chest._

"_NNNOOOOOOOO!" I screamed. _"No, no, no, no!" I then found myself awake in my bed and soaked with sweat. It was dark all over the place, so I looked at the clock on the bedside table to check and it read 3:19. I let my legs hang freely over the bed and buried my face in my hands and began silently crying.

"Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh shit!" I said with my hands cradling my head. I then laid my head back on one of the pillows on the bed and grabbed another one and hugged it close to me.

"_Alright, it's alright, we're okay. Okay? Okay." _I thought in a slightly disorientated state. I then snuggled into the pillow and eventually, sleep found its way back to me.

**Later in the morning**

I woke up again a little while later and I was tempted to get up, but I didn't want to and so I stayed in a state between being awake and being asleep for a couple more hours, because they were the most blissful moments I ever felt in the longest time, eventually I forced myself out of bed. I looked around the drawers for something to wear. I found a red shirt, a black sweater, and black jeans in a few drawers and put them on, while disposing my jammies in a hamper that I saw was placed near the dresser. I also looked around in the smaller drawers and found a hair brush. While brushing my hair, I looked around at the room around me.

"_I can't believe this is my room, in a mansion, of which I now live! Kyle always thought we'd never get to be in places like this, much less live in one of these places. Maybe when he wakes up I should see if the Professor can set up living arrangements for him here, with me. But then again, he probably still remembers when my head was on fire, and my voice. What happened with my voice, and my hair? I guess that's just part of being a mutant, you don't know how you'll change, but then again, does any mutant expect themselves to change so much all at once like that? I wonder." _I thought styling my hair the way I wanted it for the day. I walked out my door and went through the hall. Jean said to me yesterday that no one ever got lost in the mansion, and I was so hoping to not be the first. I then saw the large stairway and walked down the steps.

"Hello?" I shouted. "Anybody home?" No one answered.

"_Cool, I have an entire mansion to myself. I could use this time to explore this place." _I thought. I then headed to the right of the stairway and I entered what looked to be the dining room.

"Excellent, we know where the kitchen is now." I said to myself. I looked around the cabinets and found some cereal. I then got a bowl and spoon from the other cabinets and drawers and got some milk from the fridge. I set all the breakfast makings on the table and sat down. I then had a thought.

"_If I could make that nurse tell me what I needed to know, and I used telekinesis when the X-Men and I were in my mind, maybe I could do it again." _I thought. I placed the bowl and spoon in line and put the cereal box a few inches in behind the bowl. I stared at the cereal box, concentrating only on it. I thought of it moving closer to me, nothing so far as I could tell was happening.

"_Okay, come on. I feel that if I did this once and I can do it again." _I thought. I concentrated a bit more on the box, clearing out other distractions or thoughts.

"_Come closer to me." _I thought. Nothing happened. I got myself in a more comfortable position in my chair.

"_Come closer to me." _I thought again, again nothing happened.

"_Come closer to me." _I kept on repeating for a couple minutes before I began to get a little impatient.

"_Come closer to me…NOW!" _I screamed in my head as my eyes started to glow a bright blue. The cereal box then literally flew at me. I ducked downwith a little squeak. I heard the box hit a wall or something before dropping to the ground. I looked to where the box was and its contents had scattered all over the floor.

"Well it worked; I made a giant ass mess, but halleluiah it worked." I said. "Let's see if I can clean this up."

At first I thought about searching for a broom, but then I had the thought that if I could practice my mind powers some more on the mess. I looked down at each piece of cereal and concentrated on the amount of the pieces of cereal as one a larger object. My eyes began glowing again and a few bits of cereal began to twitch.

"_Come on you pellet shits." _I thought. Just then one by one, they all started to float, even the box started floating. I tried to divert the bits into the box, but the effort felt really draining for some reason and I felt my concentration slip. Everything fell right to the ground, including me.

"Damn it, I could lift a girl my own age, but I can't pick up a few pieces of cereal?" I said scoffing. I then located a broom closet and found, well a broom of course, and started sweeping all the cereal into a trash bag. I suddenly heard the door open. I looked up from where I was sweeping and saw Logan walk in.

"Oh, uh, hey Logan." I said nervously.

"What happened in here?" He said with a raised brow.

"I woke up and because everything was so quiet, I thought I was alone, so I came down for a bit of breakfast, but then I wanted to see if I could use any telekinesis like I could before, it turns out I can, but for some reason it's kind of weaker and hard to predict how things will go with it, hence the reason you see a bunch of cereal all over the floor."

"Hmm, well the next time you want to try experiments with your mind powers, I suggest you see Xavier or Jean, then again it would probably be better if you saw both of them, we don't want everyone seeing the mansion in pieces." He said with a grunt.

"Sorry and thank you." I said continuing to clean up my mess and Logan went to the coffee maker on the counter. After a couple minutes I had managed to sweep up every bit of cereal, afterwards I put the broom away. I then turned around to Logan who was reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee in his hand. I grabbed a chair next to him and sat down.

"So, you're a mutant too, right?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said.

"What can you do, besides working on your motorcycle?" I said. He gave me a rather questionable look.

"How do you know that I have a motorcycle?" He asked.

"Lucky guess, intuition, that sort of thing, and you seem like a guy who has a motorcycle. And it looks like I was right on the dot. So anyway, what is it that you can do, what are your powers?"

Logan grabbed a quick sip of coffee before standing up and reaching over to the center of the table, where a large bowl of fruit was. He clenched his fist and three gleaming metallic claws sprung out, impaling an apple, a pear, and a banana. My eyes widened with shock and awe as he put the claws with the fruit close to me.

"Pick what you want." He said with a smirk, I could tell he was amused by my reaction.

"That… is so…. cool." I said grabbing the pear from his middle claw. I then noticed that the skin at the end of his knuckles where the claws emerged looked a bit mangled and shredded. He then placed the remaining fruit over the bowl and sheathed his claws back into his hand.

"Does it hurt when they come out?" I asked looking at his face.

"Every single time." He said.

"How do you not bleed to death after they come out?"

"I also have an advanced healing factor that lets me heal from pretty much everything you throw at me. Gunshots, stabbings, falling out of a speeding train, and even falling off a really damn tall building, I survived it all."

"You jumped off a speeding train, when?" I said crossing my arms.

"This one mission a few months ago, I crashed face first into the platform."

"Damn… being you sounds like a total bitch." I said. Logan gave me a raised brow look.

"No offense, sir." I said, blushing a bit.

"It's what it means to be an X-Man, or that's how it is for me. Who knows, it could be different for you. It's always different for everyone, so let's see how it can be for you."

"What, like right now?" I asked flinching.

"Later, after we get done in here." He said returning to his paper and I took a bite of the pear. During the next little while, we would occasionally talk before he would get right back to his paper, I even told a little joke about a bartender and a chicken, he didn't get it, quite frankly I didn't either, and I hope to never speak of it again. After we were done in the breakfast room, he led me to my room and told me to put on the uniform I got yesterday and meet him at an elevator a bit further down the hall, he said that today I would get a chance to practice my powers under professional watch. I figured the professor would tutor me in how to use my telepathy and telekinesis, my teleportation, and fire powers. After a bit of time, I got my uniform on and looked in the mirror, I looked and felt bleeding awesome.

"_I totally feel like a superhero right now. Maybe the uniforms serve as confidence boosters; to make the wearer feel and look good while they're out kicking ass." _ I thought. I then stepped out of my room and headed towards where the elevator should be. I found the elevator, but I didn't see Logan there.

"_Great, now where am I supposed to go?" _I thought.

"_Go to the bottom floor."_ A voice said.

"What was that? Who's there?" I shouted turning around.

"_That was weird. 'Bottom floor?' What the hell is that supposed to…"_ I thought before looking at the elevator.

"Ooh, okay I get it, bottom floor." I said pushing the last button beneath the icon that identified that I was on the second floor. I doors opened up and I walked in, the doors closing behind me. I then felt the elevator move to the designated floor. The decent was really quiet.

"_They really should install a radio or something in here."_ I thought. After a few seconds, the elevator opened and I stepped out.

"Hello? Logan, are you down here?" I shouted walking down the hallway. It was really metallic and cold down there, and a lot of bulging panels erecting from the walls.

"_What is all this, some kind of Battlestar Galactica replica or something?" _I thought. Suddenly I heard a metallic whirring. I turned around to see what it was, and it appeared to be a laser gun of some sort.

"OH!" I shouted running away from the gun with haste as it began shooting at me.

"_Shit, with all the money Xavier must have, he of course must have one hell of a…. SHIT!_ _Security system." _I thought as more laser guns appeared. _"But what the hell could be all the way down here that needs protecting?" _I kept running and avoiding laser fire. I then saw a humongous saw appear in front of me.

"For the love of…" I said. Suddenly everything seemed to go in slow motion as I turned around. Lasers on one side, and a large buzz saw on the other, I was in a seemingly impossible situation. I then looked at each gun and I felt a bunch of different thoughts buzzing through my mind, mostly on how to take them out. I ran down to where the laser guns were all lined up. A bunch of them fired at me at once, but by the time they reached me I did a front flip in front of one that wasn't firing a split second before it would start firing again. I kept repeating this process, and in a half sense I didn't know that I was doing this. It was until there was one more gun that I pulled out its wiring. While this was going on, I completely forgot about the saw. I ran right towards it without any thought for anything, honestly I still don't know what I was doing. It was like my body was running on autopilot. Right before it felt I was going to hit the saw, I felt a rush and I found myself in a large chamber.

"_Okay first off: where the hell am I, and how the flying fuck did I do that?!" _I shouted in my head. Suddenly a bunch of tentacles with scissor like hands appeared, along with these machines that started blasting electric shocks at me.

"Okay, this is just getting ridiculous." I said glancing to what looked like an exit door. "Maybe that's a way out. I've had enough of this little trap." I then started running towards the door, the tentacles coming after me. Like it was in the hallway I felt my body running by itself, and I found myself doing flips and moves that I could never have done, and I was doing them anyway. The shockers, the things zapping me, grazed my arm a bit and it burned it a bit. I shouted in pain, and I saw a tentacle coming at me. I stepped back a step and grabbed at its head. I grasped it with the other hand as well and pulled the head off the tentacle. I then ripped the scissor head in half and threw it at one of the shockers, which exploded upon impact. I noticed another shocker by the door and threw the other half of the scissor at it. My aim was a little off, but it still sliced into it and shut it down at least. I ran hastily to the door, avoiding more tentacles with other attachments, like Tasers and small saws and stuff. After dodging all that stuff I finally made it to the door.

"Hasta la vista ya bastards!" I shouted at the machinery before touching the door. It then shocked me really bad.

"Dammit!" I cursed. I looked back at the machines trying to kill me, and I felt my annoyance and fear get replaced with anger, pure adulterated anger.

"I've so **Fucking HAD IT!"** I shouted, my voice changing. I then felt the blue fire sprout from my body as I felt myself lift off the ground, and I could have sworn I heard music playing. I aimed my arms at every bit of machinery and streams of blue fire erupted from my hands that incinerated everything it touched. I then felt something grab me from behind. It was some sort of a large robot arm (thingy). I teleported out of its grip and grabbed its socket, melting it with just a touch, the upper part of the arm fell to the ground with a crash.

"**Yeah, how you like me now bitch?" **I shouted before blasting more fire at everywhere I thought more weapons could be located, and in my mind everywhere in the walls could have a weapon concealed away somewhere.

"Ripley, stop!" A voice said over an intercom.

"**What? Who the hell said that?"** I shouted.

"It's Xavier. Please just calm down, we shut everything down, you can stop."

"**Xavier, where are you?" **

"Calm down and I'll guide you to our location."

"**Our location?" **I said.

"When you have calmed down, step into the elevator in front of you and meet us in the room above you."

I looked up and sure enough there was this boxy looking thing hanging above the room. The fire was still consuming my body, I couldn't believe how stressed I felt. It was like every other time I've been so stressed out was hitting me smack in the face, and it was kicking my ass. I lowered myself to the ground and took a few breaths in and out slowly and as calmly as I could.

"**I can't, I can't help it. I just can't calm myself professor. It's too hard." **I said.

"Concentrate Ripley, concentrate hard on something that gives you joy. If you can do that, the fires should die down." Xavier said.

At the moment I really couldn't think of anything that gave me joy, but then I thought of Kyle. I thought of Kyle waking up, and how happy I would be to see his beautiful smile again or just to see him happy and awake filled my heart to the brim with happiness and I felt the flames die down. I looked at my uniform, and it wasn't burnt at all, neither was my hair, and where I got burnt by one of the shockers, the burn was gone. I looked up at the windows of the room above the chamber and I saw Professor Xavier and Logan looking down on me smiling.

"Good job kid, never seen anyone freak out so bad." Logan said with a smirk. I gave a faint smile before heading towards the elevator.

**In the room above the Danger Room**

I walked out of the elevator and right to Xavier and Logan. In the room there was also a woman with dark skin, white hair, and blue eyes. I felt calm enough so that I wasn't on fire and my voice wasn't all scary as hell, but I still felt really pissed off at Xavier and/or Logan, whoever set this whole thing up. When I walked in I looked around.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"School." Logan said.

"School?" I repeated.

"Today's Wednesday kid, you're going back tomorrow." Logan said. I then crossed my arms and gave a disapproving look to everyone in the room.

"Now, I want to know what the hell that was you just put me through, and I want to know right now." I said.

"That was the test I mentioned earlier." Logan said.

"You could have at least told me what kind of test it was, or posted something about a test instead of pushing me headfirst into oblivion." I said.

"I'm sorry for being so secretive, but this test was supposed to teach you to expect the unexpected." Xavier said.

"Hmm, it makes sense, but seriously at least give me a little warning before setting the place to murder me!" I said.

"There is no need to worry, the Danger Room is specifically designed to threaten you, but not kill you." The woman said.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Ororo Munroe, but you may call me Storm. I'm one of the teachers and residents here." She said.

"And I guess I don't really have to guess you're a mutant too?" I said.

"Yes, I am."

"What can you do?"

"I have the ability to control the weather."

"Really? That's pretty cool."

"Thank you, I've actually heard a lot more about you from Charles Ripley, and judging by your test results, what I heard was more than accurate. I'm most certainly impressed." She said.

"Oh, well thank you. How did I do?" I said.

"I think you did rather well." Xavier said.

"Really?" I said.

"Of course, how could you not know?" Storm said.

"Well, yeah the floating around and shooting blue fire thing was pretty cool, but other than that the rest was okay I guess." I said.

Everyone gave me an "are you serious?" look.

"What?" I said.

"You were using moves from hundreds of fighting styles that could only be done with years of practice." Logan said. "How long have you been into Jujitsu?"

"I…I... don't know what you're talking about." I stammered.

"Logan is right, the moves you have shown are as skilled as a martial arts master. ." Xavier said.

"That doesn't make it Jujitsu or whatever dude! I was mostly just running on autopilot and I didn't know what I was thinking or doing. I just looked back at the guns, my mind went someplace else, and I was just…I don't know." I said waving my hands in the air.

Xavier held his chin, it looked like he was thinking or contemplating.

"I have a theory, what if your increased agility and this new fighting sense is part of your mutation?" He said.

"Hmm, sounds like a reasonable theory. The list for me seems to never end does it? I'm a bleeding powerhouse, and I have not a clue how to use my powers, goodness knows how many of them I have." I said pulling up a chair and sitting down sighing.

"What's wrong, Ripley?" Xavier asked.

"All of this, everything that has happened to me in these couple days. My house, my boyfriend, these powers, my life. All this crap, it's just too much! How the hell am I supposed to deal with all this?" I held my head in my hands. Storm walked over to me and grabbed my hands, holding them gently.

"That is what we are here for, to help you deal with everything. You are among friends here who want nothing more than for you to be safe, and ready for the world." She said. I looked up at her blue eyes, they seemed very gentle and honest.

"I've never really had friends before, almost everyone I knew either avoided me, or hated me." I said.

"But you have friends David. Jean, Scott, Kurt, and your lover Kyle, and I hope that you can accept us friends, maybe even a family." Xavier said wheeling closer to me. I looked at Xavier, then Logan, and back at Storm. I then felt a tear trying to leave my eye. I quickly wiped it away.

"Thank you, but please no more of these surprise training exercises, please?" I said.

"Deal." Xavier said with a smile holding out his hand. I smiled and reached out with the opposite hand and shook his.

"Welcome to the X-Men Ripley." Xavier said

**End of Chapter 10.**

**A/N: In case you're wondering about the music Ripley was hearing, it was Faster by Within Temptation. Tune in to the next chapter when he goes back to school. **


	11. Chapter 11

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Italic= Thoughts, telepathic communication_

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. This is kind of a meanwhile story, only it gets Ripley involved in the story. Here's part one. **

**Chapter 11: Back to School (Part 1)**

I woke up with a start drenched in sweat. I had that dream again, that very same dream I had the previous night. I was running from Kyle, because he was trying to murder me by any means necessary, and he almost succeeded, but then I'd wake up screaming and covered in sweat. I sat up in the bed, with the covers still draped over my legs. I then started lightly punching my head.

"_Get outta there!" _I repeated multiple times in my head. I then got all the way under the blankets and with great effort, managed to get back to sleep.

**A few short hours later**

"Ripley, come on man vake up." A voice said. I recognized the voice and accent as Kurt's.

"Go away, Kurt." I said groaning.

"Come on man, ve're going to be late. Scott said he's going to give us a ride to school after getting us breakfast. "

I looked up at him with a sleepy eye and a raised brow before rolling over to the opposite side of my bed putting a pillow over my head.

"Come on, Ripley. I need a Breakfast Gutbomb in my belly or I won't be able to function at all!" Kurt said nudging my side a bit. I retaliated by saying something mumbled that even I couldn't even understand before falling half asleep. I didn't see it, but Kurt got this mischievous grin on his face. He then touched my side and with a small rush of wind and foul whiff of brimstone, I felt myself hit the floor. I opened my eyes and say that Kurt had teleported the both of us, and the bed sheet that was covering me, outside in the middle of a hallway. I held the covers close to my body to cover myself, for I had slept in just my underwear last night. I looked up at Kurt with an annoyed expression on my face.

"Verdammt Kurt!" I yelled standing up still covering myself with the blanket.

"Ah, good you're up. I'll just give you a moment to put some more clothes on." Kurt said with a smile before walking off. "Oh and very good at your accent mein Freund. If you keep practicing, you'll speak perfectly in no time."

I thought about what he said before I realized what I said to him.

"_Did I just swear in German just now?" _I thought. I didn't know how to speak any German, much less swear in German, but then I thought of something.

"_Did I just pull a bunch of German vocabulary from Kurt's head?" _I thought. I don't know why or how I did this, but I couldn't think about that at the moment, because I realized that I was standing out in the hallway half naked, and I couldn't tell which door was the door to my room.

"_Verdammt, I mean, damn it Kurt!"_ I screamed in my head.

"Kurt! Get back here! I'm still in my undies and I don't know where my room is!" I shouted running with the blanket to where Kurt was heading.

**Meanwhile**

(Normal P.O.V.)

Scott and Jean were downstairs finishing off their breakfast. The entire time they were down there, Scott noticed Jean had this look on her face.

"Jean, what's wrong?" Scott asked.

"What?" She asked with a raised brow.

"You have this… look on your face. Is there something wrong?"

"No, everything is fine." Jean said with a smile. Scott crossed his arms.

"Come on Jean, I know something's bothering you."

Her smile went away kind of quickly, and that look returned.

"I'm just worried about Ripley. He's going back to school and he doesn't have Kyle there to help him."

"Yeah I know, but he just went through a new development and he's a lot stronger and happier than he ever was. Remember how he was yesterday? He went to go see Kyle, and he promised to visit him, come hell or high water, he said. If he does need help, we'll be there for him, like we always have been."

"_Sorry to interrupt. Jean, I need to see you. Come and see me in the common room please." _Xavier said telepathically.

"I'll see you later Scott." Jean said leaving the room. Scott started putting his breakfast makings away before Kurt ran into the room.

"Scott, you have to help me. Ripley's gone crazy!" He said cowering behind Scott. Suddenly Ripley burst into the room.

(Ripley's p.o.v.)

"Come here you fuzzy blue jerk." I said. My eyes were glowing a bit.

"Whoa Ripley, where's the fire?" Scott asked.

"Kurt teleported me out of my bed to the middle of the hall, in my underwear!" I said pointing at Kurt. Scott looked at Kurt with a disapproving look.

"Vas? He was running a bit late and I zhought I could help him get up." He said with a sheepish look.

"You teleported me out in the middle of the hallway! I was half naked you idiot!" I said.

"Vas, I didn't know zhat! Beside you found your vay back to your room just fine!"

"Alright guys, just calm down." Scott said. "Look Ripley, Kurt was just trying to wake you up in time for school. I'm sure that you must have a little appreciation for Kurt's intentions."

"Yeah, but…" I said before Scott put a hand up cutting me off.

"Kurt, I know you were just trying to help, but please be a bit more sensitive, Ripley isn't too keen on pranks. Though your intentions were good, the execution wasn't too good. Can you understand that?"

"Ya, I'm sorry Ripley. I didn't mean to make you freak out, I was just trying to help." Kurt said. I was reluctant to say anything before I sighed.

"Alright, I'm sorry too for freaking out at you, but no more pranks like that. Got it?" I said sternly.

"Okay." Kurt said before pushing a button on the watch he was wearing, suddenly pixels started floating around him and he went from a blue fuzzy guy in a bad outfit, to a normal looking guy in a bad outfit. He looked once more at his watch.

"Oh man, ve better get going if ve vant to get breakfast before school." He said.

"Well come on let's go!" Scott said grabbing his keys from his pocket before rushing out the door with me and Kurt behind. On the way out we saw Jean walking out of the next room with Professor Xavier.

"Jean, come on we're going to be late." Scott said.

"Jean will actually be accompanying me to Illinois, a new mutant showed her powers last night and I'll need Jean's help for this task."

"Alright, see you guys when you get back." Scott said trying to hide a disappointed look on his face.

"_Hmm." _I thought with a little smirk.

"Come on guys, I really vant to get a Breakfast Burger Gutbomb in my gut before school before it's too late." Kurt said pushing Scott to the door.

"Okay, I haven't known you for that long Kurt, but I think you like those things way too much." I said.

"Vhat, can I say, it's an addiction." He said with a smile as we all headed out the door. We all headed to the garage and with a push of a button it opened to reveal a large van, a motorcycle (most likely Logan's) and a red and white retro looking Mercedes.

"_Oh, hell yes!" _I thought smiling.

"Shotgun, called it!" I shouted teleporting to the front seat. Kurt ported to the back seat behind me and of course it being his car, Scott got into the driver's seat and started the engine. A small shiver went through my body.

"_Oh god, I think I wish I wasn't wearing clothes right now!" _I thought. _"Whoa there Ripley careful think of something else quickly, um, grinding meat? No that's even worse. Okay a sausage going through a meat grinder, oh god that's bad!"_

"Hey Ripley, are you okay?" Scott asked.

"Hmm, oh yes, I'm just nervous to go back to school. I've changed so much in such a short time, and lost so much, it's just kind of disconcerting, you know?" I said.

"Yeah, I do. Finding out you're a mutant, but still trying to go to school like hardly anything's changed is kind of hard at first, but you learn to adjust eventually. You just need to give it time." He said shifting the car into gear and we were off. After we passed the gate, I spoke up again.

"What I'm worried about is if I accidently expose myself, expose us all when we aren't ready and something happens." I said.

"Man chill out, I have this holovatch that makes me look like an average human being, but my tail still hangs out. It sometimes acts like it has a mind of its own and it sometimes pops out vhen I don't expect it." Kurt said.

"How do you hide it?" I asked.

"I just don't let it vorry me, and everything usually vorks out fine."

"And what about you Scott, what do you do to hide it?" I asked Scott.

"See these shades?" He said. I nodded my head. "Behind these my eyes have the power to split a mountain clean in half. These glasses help keep that power back, and if anyone gives me any smack about it, I tell them I have an eye condition and they buy it. But sometimes they can fall off by a push, or if I trip on something and I have to keep my eyes shut at all times."

"It's different for me; I'm a totally OPed mutant powerhouse with unresolved issues, tons of unresolved issues. What if I do slip up?" I asked.

"Then we'll all be there for you, it's what the X-Men do for each other." Scott said. I turned to the other side of the car and just let the wind run through my hair. It has been so long since someone else had shown me such kindness, and I was still getting used to it. Eventually we found the local burger joint and went inside. I ordered a medium breakfast cheeseburger with ketchup; Kurt ordered two medium sized Gutbombs with extra cheese and bacon. We all sat down as Kurt and I scarfed down our burgers, and as a special bonus Kurt was offered an extra burger for free with the two he purchased, and of course he took it. I finished my food early, but Kurt was taking forever to finish everything he got, I was surprised he could eat almost two of those things without puking.

"Come and finish it on the way to school Kurt, or else we'll be late." I said.

"Naw, you guys go on ahead, I'll catch up." He said with some burger in his mouth.

"Excuse me? After all the crap you gave me this morning, you're going to risk being late for a couple burgers?" I asked with my hands on my hips.

"Calm down man, I promise I von't be late. I just need to finish here and I'll be at the school in a few ports."

"I've heard about your history Kurt, so far you've been tardy twice this week alone." I said.

"I swear I'll make it, trust the fuzzy man." He said smiling. I gave a low grunt in disapproval and rolled my eyes.

"Alright, but if you're late I will get you like you got me this morning." I said pointing at him.

"Alright, sounds like a deal, now leave me to my munchies." He said taking a bite of burger. I walked away pointing my index and middle finger at my eyes and then back at Kurt. He gave me a thumbs up and a smile in retaliation. I ran out to the car where Scott was. I got into the car and shut the door.

"Where's Kurt?" Scott asked.

"He said he'd meet us at school." I said putting my seat belt on.

"Are you kidding me? He'll be tardy for sure." He said.

"I know, and you know it, but he doesn't, which gives me the perfect opportunity to get back at him. And the best part is that he said I could if he's late." I said smiling.

"Huh, I thought you didn't like pranks."

"I guess I really am changing in a lot more way than one."

Scott chuckled and shook his head before putting the car in gear and driving off to the school.

**End of Chapter 11.**

**A/N: Will Kurt get to school on time? And will Ripley get a chance to get back at him, find out next chapter. **


	12. Chapter 12

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. This is kind of a meanwhile story, only it gets Ripley involved in the story. Here's part two.**

**Chapter 12: Back to School (Part 2)**

After a few minutes of driving, around five or more, we made it to the school. In my mind I imagined a large welcoming party with fireworks, lights, music, and a large red carpet rolling right out of the school, people happy to see me arriving, including Kyle in a handsome tuxedo. I'm running to him, he's screaming my name and we run right into each other's arms.

"Ripley?" A voice said. I broke myself away from my daydream and saw Scott looking at me with a raised brow. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Scott. I just kind of fell asleep for a minute." I said rubbing my temples.

"With your eyes open?" Scott said. I was silent for a minute.

"Yes, I am known to sleep with my eyes open." I said quickly.

"By who?"

"Oh you know there's you and….others." I said blushing.

"Alright, we better get inside before we're late." Scott said.

"Speaking of which, you see Kurt anywhere?" I asked. We both looked around for Kurt, and to our surprise (not) he wasn't anywhere.

"Well, well, it looks like he isn't here." I said smirking.

"Now hold on, maybe he's inside. Let's go look." Scott said. I followed him to the front of the school. Along the way and right to the door people were just staring at me and whispering, it turned out that the report of the explosion at my house had been seen by everyone, and even though the report was clear on what supposedly happened, rumors had begun to develop and grow. I heard ones that had either just me, or Kyle and I had a bomb in the house and were planning on running away together. Some were not as extreme as that one, but the bomb rumor seemed to stick, though it wasn't decided if I had Kyle as an accomplice or not, but our relationship was clear enough that I felt like I shouldn't deny it or else make things worse for the both of us. I walked into the school with Scott and everyone had their eyes on me. It was like being in a hall of mirrors, only it wasn't copies upon copies of my own eyes staring back at me. I ignored them the best I could and we continued to search for Kurt.

"Hey, Davey!" A voice behind me said. I turned around and there was Duncan Mathews walking towards me and Scott.

"Leave us alone, Duncan." Scott said.

"What? I just wanted to come over and say hello." Duncan said putting a hand around my shoulder. "Hey Davey, that took some guts what you did to your house, and to your boyfriend too, wow!" I clenched my fists and shook a bit.

"That's enough Mathews." Scott said leading me away from Duncan.

"Actually, hold on a minute Scott." I said walking back to Duncan.

"Ripley…" Scott said.

"This'll be quick Scott, I promise." I said looking at Duncan. "I do admit, it is impressive to blow up one's home and take out his boyfriend, but that doesn't matter now, after all now we get to be together." Duncan got this look that said "da fuq?" and a few people started to look. I then attempted to embrace him.

"What? Get off me!" He shouted.

"Oh stop pretending, I know you always wanted me, plus I know you remember our plan to blow up my house and Kyle so that we could be together; you wanted to pull this off for months. I've been your obedient slave; I've taken the beatings from you and your friends like I said I would, you know how much I love it when you beat me, after all, Master, you know me better than Kyle ever did. You know how to push all my buttons, and you push them hard." I said gritting my teeth seductively.

"What… I, shut up you queer!" He said loudly. I gasped dramatically and backed a step.

"What, but you promised me you'd come out if I did what you asked of me, I blew up my house and all my stuff for you, you son of a bitch! I thought you loved me!" I said melodramatically touching the back of my hand to my forehead.

"I said shut up!" Duncan said throwing a punch at me. I dodged his blow and shifted behind him.

"No, no more of this for you." I said waving my hands over my body. "And by the way, sex with you was terrible." Duncan threw another punch at me and I dodged it like the other one. "But then again I could never find your dick so I guess I should have expected sex with you to be sucky. Do you even have one, like, anywhere on you? Oh yeah I forgot, you are a dick."

"Shut the fuck up!" He shouted throwing yet another punch at me, this time instead of dodging I grabbed it forcing it behind his back with the hand pointing straight up, forcing him to the ground groaning. I gave his arm a slight jerk and he nearly screamed.

"Now the master is the slave, how's it feel baby? Excruciating isn't it?" I said. Duncan answered with a growl. "Isn't it!?" I shouted jerking his arm hard forcing him to scream.

"Yes!" He shouted.

"You know if you want to get real freaky… hmm, the angle is just right and with just enough force I could chop your arm clean off." I said smirking.

"No, please don't!" Duncan said loudly. I laughed a bit as Scott and everyone else who was looking had a rather surprised look on their faces.

"It's my arm now bitch, I can do anything I want with it!" I shouted at him. "But then again, Mr. Tough Guy you're so strong and almighty, get out of my hold, if you can." I said jerking his arm again making Duncan scream again.

"I can't!" He said.

"No? Tell me, have you ever felt this kind of pain before? And you had better tell me the truth." I asked with a raised brow jerking his arm once more.

"No, let me go!" He shouted. I jerked his arm again and he shouted again.

"Say please, and let me hear you beg." I said sadistically.

"Please, let me go, please I need my arm to play football, please let me go!" He said with desperation. I found the desperation in his voice to be kind of sad, but kind of cute at the same time. I let go of his hand and he fell to the ground holding his arm close to himself, gasping and moaning in pain. I leaned in closely to his ear.

"Remember this pain, and remember it well. The next time you even think of giving someone a hard time, you had better remember this pain, if you do give someone a hard time, I will give you even more to remember this pain. Remember this well Duncan, because now I own your ass." I whispered in his ear. I stood up and looked at everyone who was looking at me, and strangely it didn't bother me. Suddenly the bell rang for classes to start and everyone walked off. I looked down at Duncan and scoffed.

"You better get to class; you don't want to be late for your appointment at Supercuts later." I said walking off with Scott.

"Ripley, what you did was, wow, just wow!" Scott said.

"I know!" I said excitedly. I cleared my throat a bit. "I mean, I know…" I said again more calmly.

"I knew you could stand up for yourself, good job, but be a little careful next time." Scott said patting my back, making me blush a bit.

"Okay, I'll try. Would you join me for lunch later?" I asked.

"Sure, sounds great." Scott said walking off in a different direction. "See you later Ripley."

"Bye." I said waving goodbye as we walked separate directions. I suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, Scott!" Scott turned around. "If you see Kurt, tell him he's so gonna get it from me, okay?" Scott gave me a thumbs up.

"Okay, see you later Ripley." He shouted back before walking into a classroom. I ran off to find my first class for the day.

**End of Chapter 12**


	13. Chapter 13

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Italic= Thoughts, telepathic communication_

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. This is kind of a meanwhile story, only it gets Ripley involved in the story. Here's part three. Also, I know Hank Mccoy wasn't introduced until next season, but I'm going to introduce him to the story a little early, okay? Enjoy.**

**Chapter 13: Back to School (Part 3)**

The young man Kurt appeared suddenly in a puff of foul smelling smoke with a hamburger in his hand before taking off running, with the school bell ringing, he realized that he was late.

"Oh man, late again." Kurt said shoving the rest of his burger in his mouth while looking at his watch. He teleported close to the front door where no one could see him and made for the door, but he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and he bumped into Principal Darkholme.

"Principal Darkholme." He said with a mouth full of burger.

"Well, Mr. Wagner." She said grabbing his wrist and looking at his watch. "Hmm, you're watch isn't slow, so it must be you. If you are late again Mr. Wagner, I'm enrolling you in my after school group." The front doors behind Darkholme opened and there was Scott.

"Hey, light a fire, your teacher sent me to find you." Scott said nodding his head in respect for his principal. "Ms. Darkholme." Scott grabbed Kurt by the wrist and led him through the doorway. "Ripley told you you'd be late if you stopped for another Breakfast Burger Gutbomb."

"Like I told Ripley mein freud, it's an addiction." Kurt said smiling. Scott smiled with a kind of sneaky smile; for it would seem that Kurt forgot that Ripley said that he would serve Kurt some good old fashioned retribution. None of them saw, but Principal Darkholme had this look in her eye after they mentioned Ripley.

**Meanwhile (Ripley's P.O.V.)**

Of all the classes I had to have first coming back to school, I had to have gym class. The locker rooms are putrid with the smell of B.O., bad deodorant, and overly stroked ego. And to make things worse, Duncan is in the same period as me, but due to what happened earlier, I thought he would lay off of me for today, but the rest of my life would also have been nice I suppose. I think the only good thing about the class is the coach, Hank McCoy. He's super cool; he's smart, he's decent, he's kind, and he's kind of good looking too, and the best damn high school coach in the world. He's like the kind of guy you would fix your older sister up with, if you had one of course, if only he wasn't busy being a coach of a major school sports team. When I entered the locker rooms for what seemed like the first time in an eternity, the rank smell that filled my nostrils nearly sent me running.

"_Oh god, did they ever clean this locker room at all?"_ I thought trying not to gag. I reached into my bag and pulled out a brand spanking new pair of gym clothes that Xavier purchased for me.

"_Sorry boys." _ I said to the gym shorts and shirt in my mind. _"It's time we got hot and sweaty." _Right as when I started to get out of my regular clothes, I heard some of the other guys start to walk in, including Duncan. When they saw me, they thought I was someone new, due to my larger stature and black hair.

"No guys, that's little Davey." Duncan said. My face went red with anger and embarrassment. You see, little Davey is what the guys called me in the locker room, mostly because I was so small and weak looking. It always pissed me off, but I was always too timid to do anything about it.

"What?"

"No way!"

"Is he using steroids or something?"

"What's with his hair?"

That's what I mostly heard among the crowd of more largely built guys, and it annoyed me so much I swear I could almost feel a vein in my head just about pop open.

"_FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU…!"_ I screamed in my head. I heard a door open and I saw Coach McCoy stepping out of his office.

"Behold, a new day arises, and a previous one sets." Coach said residing something from an old poem or something. He walked over to the crowd of boys crowded around me. "Good morning guys." He said with a pleasant smile. All the guys looked at him and stood up straight in respect for him.

"Morning Coach." Some of them said. Coach McCoy then got a look at me and raised a curious brow.

"I'm sorry, but are you new?" He asked. I was about to answer, but then Duncan cut me off.

"It's little Davey, remember that smaller kid?" He said giving me a small smirk. Coach looked back at me with a surprised look on his face.

"Ripley?" He asked.

"Yes sir?" I said with a nervous smile.

"My goodness, what have you done to yourself while you were gone?"

"I guess my little accident gave me the scared me into something of an extra growth spurt, and made me want to change a few things." I said brushing a hand through my hair.

"Your accident, what happened?" He asked.

"My house blew up with me and my b…" I said before changing what I was going to say. "…my best friend Kyle and my father were in the house, my dad didn't make it, and it put me and my friend in a coma. I woke up three days ago, but it's unknown if Kyle will be able to wake up."

"That was you on the news? But they said it was someone else and there was no picture of you." He said with a surprised and sad look in his eye.

"Yes, they released my real name instead and all the pictures of me were destroyed. My name is Joshua Davidson, but to all of you it's still Ripley, David, or even Davey if you're nasty. I'm talking to you Mathews." I said pointing to Duncan. He gave me a nasty look while the other guys gasped, or oohed, or even laughed under their breaths. McCoy walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry to hear about this Ripley. Do want to take a break today? You don't have to do anything for the rest of the week if you want." He said. Coach McCoy was one of the only adults I knew that cared about me. He cared for everyone, no matter who they are, that was just one of his greatest qualities. Whenever someone had a problem with something, he would help them take things slow so that they can succeed and help them feel good.

"No, but thank you though. I've been asleep for two days straight and I'm still full of unused energy I'd like to get out." I said. I admit taking a break for the rest of the week would be nice, I could see Kyle more often, but I had to be at school and I wasn't kidding about the unused energy thing. I felt as if I were about to explode.

"Well, today's your lucky day, because today we're playing dodge ball, right coach?" Duncan said walking next to me and grabbing my shoulder.

"Yes we are, how does that sound Ripley, do you think you're up for that?"

"Yeah, sounds like fun." I said grabbing Duncan's hand and removing it from my shoulder.

"Alright boys, let's get changed, come on." Coach McCoy said clapping his hands. Everyone went to their lockers to get their clothes and get dressed, but Duncan stayed near me.

"Well, we'd better get ready; I don't want you to cry too hard this time." Duncan said.

"Yeah, we don't want to scream like a certain someone did this morning." I said removing my shirt and putting it in the locker. Duncan had this angry red look on his face.

"I let you do that." He said.

"Let me do, what?" I asked.

"You know what I mean." He said with an irritated tone.

"Oh, you mean making you scream like a little girl." I said putting my gym shorts on.

"Yeah, you… I mean no, I mean…" He stammered.

"Is this going to last long? I'd like to go and get this class over with if it's alright with you, not that I care." I said. Duncan gave a dangerous smile.

"You're so gonna get it, fag." He said.

"Says the guy that gave it to me last week, in bed?" I said with a sadistic smirk.

"What, no I…" He said.

"Just shut up and go get your damn clothes on before I spread any more dirt, don't think I'll do it, honey? Try me, I taste delicious, but then again you know that. Or maybe I'll take my arm back from you, and mount it on the wall over my bed, whichever sounds better. " I said winking at him. Duncan growled a bit before walking off.

"_Yeah, how's them apples bitch!?" _I shouted in my head. I knew aggravating him probably wasn't the best thing to do, but he picked on Kyle too. Kyle told me before he went under that Duncan would constantly harass him, and I wanted Duncan to suffer, but in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but feel otherwise. Soon enough everyone was dressed and we were out in the gym. We did the usual warm ups; sit ups, pushups, jumping jacks, and various other physical exercises. Before my powers emerged, almost everything I did was ludicrously difficult for me, but now I was blazing through them like they were nothing. While everyone was working off gallons of precious sweat, I was doing almost twice what they were doing before a single drop escaped my skin. Duncan clearly saw me steamrolling him, and I could sense a twinge of jealousy. Later we finally went to the coup de grace of the day, doge ball. We both split into teams, most of the bulky strong guys on one side, and the not so strong guys on the other side, my side. A line of dodge balls were lined up in a straight line, with two teams at both sides of the boarder ready to attack. Coach McCoy sat on the bleachers ready to start us off.

"Now, let's make this a nice clean game." He said. Both teams were ready, looking for a perfect ball to grab and shoot at somebody, but Duncan and I just stared off at each other with a deep dislike for each other. I couldn't wait for the ensuing battle; the same anticipation was in his face as well. I looked at the dodge ball boarder and I felt my mind race into my "fighter's sense." Hundreds of attack plans ran through my head, but I knew where to go and what to do. Coach began counting down.

"Ready…?"

"Set…?" He then blew his whistle telling us to go. I let everyone else rush to either their imminent doom or wonderful victory. Duncan also ran off in the frenzy. Most of the guys in my team were hit out but a few moment, while my teammates only managed to tag one of Duncan's teammates. I then saw a few balls flying towards me. I did slight jump with a twirl and caught both of them, tossing them right back to their senders and landed perfectly on my feet, catching one other ball that was headed towards my face.

"Alright, someone's going to die today." I said quietly as I looked at the ball's thrower, Duncan. I ran straight in his direction and threw the ball like a discus. It went in a half circle, going one way but rounding about to my target. (A/N: Imagine that famous gunshot from Wanted.) Duncan shoved another one of his teammates in front of him and the ball hit his human shield in the gut. I grinded my teeth in frustration before jumping out of the path of another ball. I then saw another one flying towards me.

"_Are they seriously aiming only towards my face?"_ I thought. I punched the ball into the path of its sender, hitting square in the face. The game went on and not a single ball hit me, however my teammates weren't so lucky. In a few short moments only a couple of my teammates and me were left, while there were about twice as many guys on Duncan's team.

"_Dammit, these other idiots are slowing me down." _I told myself in my head. I looked at Duncan and he was giving me this big smile, I could tell he felt that he was going to win. Our fallen teammates shouted and jeered at us and groaned in annoyance at who was left. From the differences in both our teams, I would feel the same, especially with all the games I had horribly lost in the past and these same two guys left on my team would almost be the exact final three in most games. But there was something that I would not soon forget; I had a brand spanking new set of hidden talents besides fancy footwork, and I would surly use them. I didn't know if it would be considered cheating, but honestly I didn't really care, it was time for a change in the game.

"_Let's try a little something new." _I thought.

"Excuse me for a bit, I think I'm gonna…" I said before making a big fake sneeze.

"You'llwinthiswithmeforme!" I shouted quickly in my sneeze.

"What?" My other teammates said.

"Hold on one more." I said, my eyes glowing slightly. I then let out another fake sneeze.

"You'llwinthiswithmeforme!" I said sneezing again. My teammates' eyes gave a small glow before they stood up straight.

"Yes sir!" They said saluting to me and picking up the nearest balls they could find. One of them stood at one side of the court we were using, and the other stood on the opposite side. Duncan's team threw what balls they had in their hands right towards us.

"_Now!" _I said using telepathy. They both did a large front flip, reaching under them to grab the airborne dodge balls, and I did the same. My teammates landed with their backs bent back before launching the balls they were carrying at multiple targets, hitting all, but two of them, including Duncan.

"_Leave Mathews, the bastard's mine." _I said in my mind clutching the dodge balls in my hands. The other guy looked kind of discouraged. I looked at him and gave a wicked smile, I giggled as I saw him flinch. "You're first." I mouthed before blowing a kiss at him. He tensed up a bit, dropping the ball he was carrying and running to the bleachers where his other teammates were, now it was Duncan all alone.

"Alright you pansies, bring it on!" Duncan shouted. I looked at my other teammates and gave them a slight nod with instructions. They both got on their hands and feet and stood like two wooden tables. I sprinted with my dodge balls held firmly in my hands and gave a couple large steps on my teammates' backs, springing me into the air. Duncan threw his balls at me, however I threw the ball in my right hand and it hit both of his dodge balls, bouncing them in separate direction away from me, while I threw the ball in my left hand at Duncan, nailing him in the gut, hard making him double over coughing violently. I thought nailing him in the gut would leave me feeling satisfied, but instead I felt myself reliving what happened to Carl, and I what did to him, and what I almost did to him afterwards. I looked at Duncan writhing on the floor and a feeling of dread spread over me.

"_Oh god, what have I done?"_ I thought running over to Duncan and releasing my hold over my teammates. I knelt down close to him, he looked seriously messed up; he was on the ground groaning and holding his gut.

"Mathews, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you so hard like that, really, I'm so sorry." I said holding my hands over him. He pushed my hands away.

"Don't… don't touch me, you freak." Duncan said weakly. Everyone got off their seats and sped over to us, pushing me aside. Coach McCoy walked next to me and grabbed my shoulder. I looked and he had this kind of half impressed and disappointed face.

"Ripley…" He said.

"Coach, I didn't mean to hit him so hard, I swear." I said.

"Ripley, go get a bag of ice for Duncan from my office and hit the showers." Coach said. I gave a quick nod and ran his office freezer, inside were a few convenient bags of ice. I grabbed two of them and ran back to the crowd gathered around Duncan.

"Excuse me, cold bags of ice coming through." I said trying to move the crowd aside, some of them shoved back, while some guy ripped the bags from my hands and went to Duncan.

"Here you go Mathews." He said jeering back at me. I hesitated, but I ran right to the locker room, the foul smell filling my nostrils. I went to my locker, removed all my gym clothes, and went to the shower. I scrubbed everywhere on me really hard, as one could tell I was very furious with myself.

"_Why did I do that, I only wanted to embarrass him, not give a freaking hernia!" _I said to myself in my head. After my shower I dried off and went back to my locker to get my street clothes on. The smell of shower faucet water mixed with the already bad locker smell. The bad smell increased my fury and my eyes began to light up.

"It smells so shitty in here!" I shouted, my eyes glowing bright. All the lockers burst open simultaneously as I shouted. I looked around at all the open lockers and I sat on the bench holding my head in my hands, feeling the need to cry.

"_What the hell is wrong with me?" _I thought feeling a single tear trickle down my face right to the floor.

**End of chapter 13.**

**A/N: I actually wanted to have this chapter to pack in Ripley's whole day, but this scene kept replaying in my head and adding everything else would just make this chapter too big, so I was like "Screw it, this gym class scene first, and the rest of the day later." Hope you all enjoyed this chapter; stay tuned for the next chapter. **


	14. Chapter 14

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Italic= Thoughts, telepathic communication_

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. This is kind of a meanwhile story, only it gets Ripley involved in the story. Here's part four. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 14: Back to School (Part 4)**

During the next couple class periods, I couldn't really focus on anything; I was still feeling guilty about what I did to Duncan. I heard he didn't have to go to the hospital, thank god, but I still felt extremely livid. I don't know why I was feeling like this, or why there was even confliction. After all he was the biggest insufferable simpleton on the face of the whole planet, who felt the petty need to pick on everyone he finds inferior to himself. And yet I was feeling conflicted about whether I was feeling guilty or satisfied, and I didn't want to feel any of those feelings, and yet I did. I also felt strange that in one of my classes, Kyle wasn't there. In my mind I assured myself that I would see him later, but I still felt a sickening feeling in my stomach from not being with him all day. I shook my head and let all thoughts of the matter slip away so that I could focus on my school work; I had a lot of it. A couple of hours passed and at last lunch time came along, I was about to meet with Scott for lunch, and hopefully Kurt and maybe Jean if she was back from Illinois, unless she was off with Duncan; goodness knows what he will or would tell her. On the way to the cafeteria, I got a few looks, though some were different than the ones I was given earlier, most of the looks came from girls. I think they heard I took Duncan down, and that apparently made me more attractive, though most of the males were a bit more apprehensive because they almost lost their school's sporting main man. Once I got to the cafeteria, I got my lunch and looked outside for Scott and Kurt.

"Ripley, over here!" Someone shouted. I turned and there was Scott walking towards me. Seeing Scott was like watching an angel appear from the open heavens. I felt my heartbeat fluster and increase in tempo and my skin get hot, for reasons I couldn't explain.

"_Whoa, careful there tiger."_ I thought shaking my head and walking towards Scott.

"Hey Scott." I said leading him to a bench so we could sit and talk.

"So, how was your first day back?" Scott asked.

"Honestly, it's been strange." I answered.

"I understand that. It's like walking around in someone else's skin."

"Oh my god, I know. Remember how short and thin I was? I looked like I could hardly lift a text book, and now look at me; I'm a well-built black haired hotty. I also look and feel stronger, both physically and intellectually."

"You do seem a bit happier, and more self-confident."

"Hmm, happier, yes, but my confidence is still kind of questionable."

"Why's that?"

"Didn't you hear about this morning? Everyone else seems to."

"I heard that something happened to Duncan, do you know something about it?"

I told him about what happened in gym class, and how I felt, what I said to him. I also told him that I used my powers to influence the other players into my "fighter's sense", at least that's what I think did. And I got to when I sent the ball flying at his gut, and instead of feeling satisfied, I felt a horrible wave of guilt consume me. After explaining, Scott had this forlorn look on his face.

"I don't know what happened; it was like I tapped into some wild side of myself and it got too out of control." I said.

"That could be part of your 'fighter's sense'." Scott said. "It could be some kind defense mechanism that your mutation gave you, but could also channel your rage and makes you act on it."

"Damn Scott, look at the big brain on you, I'm not sure I buy it though."

"It's okay, I'm not sure that I'm selling it." Scott said.

"Hey, I'll take anything if I can ever start to understand my powers, and thanks to your smarty pants brain, I think I'm moving in closer to learning a bit more about them. Thanks Scotty." I said looking at his face.

"Scotty?" He said with a raised brow.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to start calling you Scotty sometimes, I hope that's alright with you."

"No, it's okay. I don't mind at all." Scott said with a smile look on his face. Suddenly we were ambushed by another black haired teenager in a brown over shirt, a stripped undershirt, and brown kackys.

"Vas up, mein freunds." He shouted making my heart skip a beat.

"Whoa, what the hell?" I exclaimed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you guys." Kurt said. "I certainly hope I vasn't interrupting anything." Scott and I both scoffed at him

"Is he always like this?" I asked Scott while pointing at Kurt.

"Almost all the time." Scott said.

"Lucky me, oh by the way Kurt, I've decided to completely forgive you for this morning's events. I decided I'm not going to get you back after all." Kurt raised a brow and sat next to me.

"Really? I thought that was what you thought was fair." Kurt said.

"I did, but it's like my mother used to tell me, two wrongs don't make a right."

"I guess that makes sense, but I actually vanted you to get me back. I actually felt kind of bad for this morning."

"No, really it's okay." I said gazing off at the sky.

"Vhat's up Ripley?" Kurt said.

"I almost killed Duncan today." I said kind of blankly. Kurt got a surprised look on his face that quickly turned into a half smile.

"You're joking, right?" Kurt said.

"No, I swear to god I almost put a hole in his sternum." I said pointing my face down.

"Whoa, vell vhat happened." Kurt asked. I told him what I told Scott and Scott put in the few parts that missed or held back. After I told Kurt everything, he had kind of a forlorn look on his face.

"Man, I don't know who to feel sorrier for. I know that Duncan is kind of jerk, but it sounded like you really hurt his ego, but I also know that you couldn't control yourself, and that sounds like it vasn't much fun."

"Yeah I know, and no it wasn't. I thought it would be fun to crush him, but I think it's because of this fighter's sense thing that I have."

"Or it could be that you're not used to beating Duncan at things before and beating him for the first time kind of started some kind of sense of victory you haven't felt before, maybe you're confusing it with guilt." Scott said.

"No, dammit none you still don't understand. He was on the ground, writhing horribly in pain. I thought he was going to throw up blood. How often do you see a macho jerk like Duncan on the ground in pain? I thought I almost killed someone again. Do you have any idea how that feels to have the knowledge that you committed manslaughter, how that makes me feel?" I said. Both of them wouldn't answer. "I thought so." I said getting up and walking away.

**(Normal P.O.V.)**

"Man, he should talk to someone." Kurt said.

"He just did Kurt, Ripley confides in us. We saved his life remember?" Scott said.

"I think he actually saved our lives more than ve saved his." Kurt said. Scott turned and looked at Ripley walking away.

"That's not how he sees it." Scott said.

**A couple hours later (Ripley's P.O.V.)**

The last of my classes weren't too bad, I did have some make up work to do, but I got that finished. I wanted to get everything I could do finished so I could go and visit Kyle in the hospital afterwards. I also wanted to stop by Coach McCoy's office and formally apologize for my actions in gym class, and go to Duncan later and apologize to him too, for what it was worth. At the final bell of the day, I turned in my assignments for the day and left the classroom. I haven't been to my locker all day and there was some stuff I would like to get out. When I got to my locker, someone had spray painted the word "fag" on it in red paint.

_"Hmph, nice welcome back present assholes." _I thought opening up my locker. Inside there were two books I got from the library and one I brought from home before it blew up. I then noticed a picture in the back of the locker; I had completely forgotten that it was there. I reached inside and grabbed the picture from the small magnets holding it in place. It was a picture of me and Kyle at the fairgrounds when we were younger. This was on the night he became my boyfriend, it was the most beautiful night of my life, except it began to rain right as when we were getting on the really good rides, but I didn't care about the rides, just as long as he was there, to me that was enough. I felt ashamed for putting this picture so far in my locker where no one could see it, I wanted to keep us a secret so that people who were like Duncan, or my father, away from us so that we could be safe, but I was too selfish to see how hard all the secrecy was on him. I held the picture close to me and I felt a tear stream down my face.

"_I'm so sorry, Kyle. I hope that if you wake up… when you wake up, I don't know if you'll remember anything, but I hope that you can at least remember that I love you."_ I thought.

"Mr. Ripley?" Someone said. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked around and the hand belonged to Principal Darkholme.

"Oh, hello Ms. Darkholme." I said clearing my throat. "I'm just fine, thanks for asking."

"Either my glasses are smudged, or I could have sworn I saw a tear." She said.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's none of those things. I'm just fine, see?" I said pointing at the smile on my face. She crossed her arms and got a kind of scrunched look on her face.

"I would appreciate it if you would allow me to help you instead of treating me like an imbecile." She said. My false smile quickly faded away.

"I'm sorry ma'am, it's just I've always cried so many times and everyone always thought of me to be so much of a spineless freak that no one dared to pay any attention to me, including you."

"Excuse me?" I then felt my mind race again and my attitude change into something more bold, my fighter's sense was being activated.

"_Oh, god no." _I thought in the back of my mind.

"You always told me that you would help me, and other kids who needed help against the bullies in this school. The biggest one for me is Mr. Duncan Mathews, he has been my constant tormentor and others for almost two whole years and I have had yet to see results of your so called help, so now I ask, why are you so concerned all of a sudden and why now?" She got this disappointed look on her face and held her temples, not saying anything. She then gave a short sigh.

"Because I feel guilty." She said.

"Guilty for what?" I said in a bold tone.

"I feel that I didn't do my job, and you were right. I was too wrapped up in my own affairs and I neglected the students who needed my help the most, more specifically you. I feel guilty that you have lost everything you had, and what you almost lost. I have seen you and Mr. Daniels together and it reminded me of what I felt like I couldn't have."

"So, what are you saying that you're jealous of me?" I asked.

"No, I just want you to know that I know how hard it is to love someone, but to feel like you need to keep it a secret from the world to protect them."

"How could you possibly know? Everyone has their lovers and they flaunt them around like a trophy, and that's okay, but it's different with me. I'm gay Principal Darkholme."

_Oh man, that feels so weird to say that out loud."_ I thought.

"It's different because I'm a boy and I have a lover who's the same gender as I am and everyone thinks it's the end of the damned world for that, so they lash out at me and Kyle for being different. That's why I kept it a secret, to shield us from the people who wouldn't know what love is if it bit them in the ass, so please; spare me that 'I understand' stuff, because honestly, you don't understand at all." I said.

"You're wrong Ripley, I understand all too well. " I looked at her with a raised brow, trying to figure out what she was saying to me.

"Ripley." I looked behind me and Scott was calling out to me. I turned back around to face Darkholme

"Can we continue this conversation some other time please, Kyle's in the hospital and I'd like to get there before visiting hours are over." I said.

"Of course, we can talk whenever you want." Ms. Darkholme said.

"Thanks, it was good talking to you Principal Darkholme. (I think.)" I said turning around towards Scott and walking towards him. Scott had this look on her face

"What was that about?" Scott asked.

"Trust me; I haven't the slightest idea." I said. Behind me I didn't see Principal Darkholme had a small smirk on her face, but then it turned into a weirded out kind of look. I had this feeling that something was up, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered to talk to me, but I think I kind of opened a vulnerable spot on her. She actually tried to open up to someone, whether it was by accident or otherwise, she almost did. I just couldn't believe she almost opened up to me of all people. I decided to shrug this off for now and walked with Scott to the exit, finding Kurt on the way out. We each talked about the remainder of our day as we all walked down to student parking. I then thought about how I left Scott and Kurt so abruptly at lunch.

"Hey guys? I'm sorry for bailing on you earlier like I did." I said.

"You don't have anything to apologize for Rip, we understand that you were stressed and you needed to get away." Scott said. I raised a brow at Scott's little nickname.

"_Rip huh?" _I thought. _"I guess he's trying to come back to me calling him Scotty. Still, Rip... I like it."_

"And man, you really need to stop bringing yourself down. You're to tense, you gotta dust yourself off; stand up, shout out loud, and paaaarty!" Kurt said giving a little dance while walking. I giggled a little bit and Scott just scoffed. Kurt kept on walk dancing and giving a few musical beats until we got to Scott's car.

"Thanks for making me laugh Kurt, and you know what? You're right. Maybe we all should go and party some time." I said. Scott and Kurt both gave me weird looks, just as I realized my choice of words.

"Not that way!" I shouted at them blushing deeply. Scott and Kurt laughed at my reaction.

"Shut up." I said laughing along with them, despite myself. We all jumped into Scott's car and drove back home.

**Meanwhile at the Mansion**

Logan was working on his motorcycle in the garage, thinking about his conversation with Ripley yesterday.

"_How'd he know I had a motorcycle? 'That kind of guy' he said. What did he mean by that?" _He thought. Suddenly he stopped what he was doing and sniffed the air. He ran out of the garage and started sniffing the air again. He found himself on the roof on the mansion as he gave a final sniff.

"Sabertooth…" He said with a grunt. Elsewhere, the loud roar of a slightly larger motorcycle with hot rod flames came bursting right towards Bayville's city limits. The rider of the motorcycle had long dirty blonde hair and wore a large tattered trench coat, leather pants and boots. He also wore a large metal chest plate and padding on his knees and forearms. He lifted the visor on his helmet on gave a long sniff.

"Wolverine…" He said with a kind of evil purr revving the engine of his motorcycle, speeding faster right into Bayville.

**End of Chapter 14**

**A/N: Next chapter, the X-Men faces off against Sabertooth, and meets their new recruit Kitty Pryde. Stay tuned.**


	15. Chapter 15

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

_Italic= Thoughts, telepathic communication_

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. This is kind of a meanwhile story, only it gets Ripley involved in the story. Here's part y**es, I used the scene from when Wolverine, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler had their first encounter in the X-Men Eveolution series, quotes, actions, and all. All the characters and familiar scenes belong to Marvel, except Ripley and the parts with Ripley. Ripley's mine, okay!?** Anyways, enjoy.**

**Chapter 15: Getting between Rivals**

On the way back to the mansion Kurt and I played a few games. I introduced Kurt to sweet and sour and we had a blast with other passing drivers. So far we got five smiles, three waves hello (or goodbye), and a few magic fingers; those were the ones that made us laugh. Scott mostly just sat in his driver's seat with a bemused look on his face, although sometimes I would see him crack a smile. We finally got to the mansion, and by the tally of the scores between Kurt and me, I had won the game, or so I said.

"How exactly did you win?" Kurt asked as we pulled up to the gate.

"I don't know, there aren't really any rules, but since I said that I won before you, it's official. Hahaha" I said fake laughing.

"Man, no fair." Kurt groaned.

"Oh, don't worry; you'll win the next round if you remember to claim your victory." I said.

"Vhat victory?" Kurt asked.

"Exactly" I said with a grin. Kurt crossed his arms with a huff as we pulled into the garage. I had only known these guys for less than a week and already we were already good friends, I had guessed that was what happened to most fellow mutants. Scott parked the car where he pulled out and we all got out of the car. We walked to the entrance of the mansion and were about to enter, but then the sound of a motorcycle revving caught us off guard. There was a man in an orange and black jumpsuit and red helmet riding a motorcycle.

"_Who the hell is that?"_ I thought.

"Whoa, looks like Logan's packing some serious attitude." Kurt said.

"That's Logan?" I said.

"Yeah, but he calls himself Wolverine, whether it's in or out of uniform, and it looks like something's up. You guys wanna follow him and check it out?"

"Hell yeah, let's go."

"Let's go." Kurt and I said simultaneously. We both looked at each other.

"Jinx. Jinx. Jinx." Kurt and I said. "JINX!" I said a split second before Kurt.

"Verdammt!" Kurt said.

"Ha, beat you again, and this time you owe me a drink." I said.

"Hey are you guys you coming or not?" Scott said.

"Yeah, we're coming." I said me and Kurt racing after Scott. We opened the garage and I wondered what we were going to be riding in, to be honest I wanted to try riding in the X-Van. Kurt walked towards the van.

"Should ve take the X-Van?" He asked.

"I think we should try something a bit more inconspicuous." Scott said walking over to his car. "And cooler." Scott got into the driver's seat and started the car. Kurt teleported to the front seat and I was about to enter the car too, but then I stopped.

"Wait a minute, if something is up, maybe we should bring our uniforms just in case." I said.

"You're not wearing yours under your clothes?" Scott said.

"Obviously not…" I said. "…was I supposed to? Plus do you not see what I'm wearing? I think I would look pretty conspicuous if I were wearing a black long sleeve body suit under a short sleeved red shirt and skinny black jeans; and it wouldn't be just the and long sleeves, and the gloves that would give me away, or the mild sweat stains."

"Alright, we get it." Scott said. "Why don't you go get your uniform and we'll text you where to go when you're ready?"

"I don't have a cell phone, remember? It blew up." I said frowning.

"Right… Kurt, give Ripley your phone." Scott said. Kurt gave a quick nod and tossed his phone over to me.

"Cool, I'll see you guys in a bit." I said racing to the mansion as Scott and Kurt drove away.

**A few minutes later**

Scott and Kurt were driving in the path Wolverine was going, trying hard to keep at lengths apart from him so that he wouldn't suspect that he was being followed. It looked as if they were getting close to where Wolverine was going to stop, when he turned to a corner of a block next to a parking garage. The boys followed him, but when they turned, they lost sight of him.

"Do you see him?" Scott said.

"No, I lost him." Kurt said slapping the side of the car.

"Hey, watch it…" Scott shouted."…this car is smudge resistant, not dent resistant." They both looked around before Kurt noticed someone at the top of the parking garage.

"There he is!" Kurt said pointing and sure enough there was Wolverine, but he was looking around as if he were searching for something, or someone. Scott pulled out his phone and dialed in Kurt's number. He waited a bit until Kurt's voice mail took the call. Scott tried to call again, but Kurt's voice mail picked up the call again.

"_Come on Ripley, answer the phone."_ He thought.

"Is Ripley coming?" Kurt said.

"I don't know. He isn't picking up." Scott said dialing the phone again. Meanwhile on the top floor of the parking garage, Wolverine was still looking around for the man he referred to as Sabertooth, his rival of many years. God and they only know how long these men have been fighting, and He only knows when they will stop, but until that day comes, today is just another encounter for them. Wolverine sniffed the air, and turned around in the direction where the noise of a motorcycle engine was approaching, from a building near the garage. Suddenly a large man riding an equally fitting large motorcycle sprang from the rooftop, chipping some of the concrete lining, and landed perfectly on the top floor of the parking garage.

"I've been waiting a long time for this, runt." Sabertooth said revving the motorcycle.

"Bring it on, pops…" Wolverine said unsheathing his claws. "…bring it on." Sabertooth's motorcycle gave a mighty roar and with a large screech of tires and a smell of burning rubber began to charge directly towards Wolverine. Wolverine stood his ground, with his claws at the ready. Sabertooth's motorcycle advanced closer to the smaller man and was about to hit him when he jumped out of the way, a loud grinding noise filled the air as Wolverine dodged. The motorcycle went on a couple inches before the front of the bike's frame slid off from a large cutting mark on the axel. Sabertooth began to skid out of control and he and the bike hit the edge of the building. Sabertooth and the motorcycle freefell a while before he grabbed the edge of another floor and flung himself to the next one below, while the ruined motorcycle plummeted to the ground, right in the direction of Scott and Kurt.

"AH!" The boys shouted grabbing each other. Kurt teleported himself and Scott out of the car and the motorcycle crashed right on top of it. Both of the boys reappeared near the car unscathed, but then Scott saw his car and cringed.

"My car!" He said distraughtly. Kurt could only grin at Scott's misfortune. On top of the garage, Wolverine looked around for signs of Sabertooth. Suddenly, a mighty roar was heard and a car smashed through the ground Wolverine was standing on. He tried jumping as the car hit, but he lost his footing and fell, his hand clutching the edge, but it crumbled in his hand and he fell to the floor below. He stood up for a few seconds before the same car crashed into him and pinned him to the concrete supporter behind him. On the other end, Sabertooth had the car in his hands and was trying to squish Wolverine with it.

"One shall fall by the other's hand. It's our destiny, and we can't change it." Sabertooth shouted.

"I never knew you went for that philosophy mumbo jumbo!" Wolverine said his voice straining.

"Hey hairball!" A voice shouted. Sabertooth turned around and there was Cyclops and Nightcrawler. "I got your destiny right here." Cyclops said blasting Sabertooth away from Wolverine. Nightcrawler charged at Sabertooth and teleported, propelling himself towards Sabertooth as he stood back up. Nightcrawler appeared again and charged at Sabertooth, but he bounced of the larger man's chest and crashed on the floor.

"Typical…" He said. Sabertooth approached him for a final blow, but Wolverine charged at him, and both men slid right into a (conveniently placed) open elevator. Sabertooth roared again and kicked Wolverine right out of the elevator car. Wolverine charged back, but Sabertooth closed the door, Wolverine's claws slicing right through the metal doors.

"This is a taste of things to come, Wolverine!" Sabertooth shouted as Wolverine demolished the doors.

"Yeah, ve showed him. Ve're the X-Men." Nightcrawler said. Wolverine looked at both of the boys and sniffed.

"Look, I don't fight your battles, so don't fight mine." He said shoving past the boys before a loud roar filled the elevator shaft.

"What was that?" Cyclops said. Wolverine got this worried and angry look on his face.

"Did you come alone?" He asked.

"Well, yes. But…" Nightcrawler said.

"But, what?" Wolverine said.

"Ripley was supposed to come with us, but maybe…" Cyclops said.

"Dammit, we gotta get down there, come on!" Wolverine said jumping into the elevator shaft, grabbing the suspension cables. The boys looked at each other and shrugged grabbing the cables and shimming down.

**Meanwhile**

During the decent, Sabertooth cursed under his breath. _"Those kids shouldn't have interfered, this was supposed to be just between me and Logan. If I see them again, I'll cut them down if I haave to." _He thought as the elevator hit the bottom floor. When the doors opened he ran right out, but was tripped on something.

"What the…" He roared falling over.

"Oops, how clumsy of you." A voice said. Sabertooth turned to see a young looking boy with a uniform similar to what the other kids were wearing, but this one was wearing a cape or a cloak of some sort that enveloped his whole body.

"Who're you supposed to be?" He said.

"My name is Ripley, and you would be wise not to fucking forget it." The boy said, his eyes glowing bright as if on fire.

**End of Chapter 15**

**A/N:S****tick around for the next chapter when we find out what Ripley has been doing and when he goes toe to toe with Sabertooth. Stay tuned.******


	16. Chapter 16

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. This is kind of a, well you should get the point by now. Here's part six, the fight between Ripley and Sabertooth. Enjoy**

**Chapter 16: Cat Fight**

In the bottom floor of the parking garage that Scott said that he and Kurt were at, I faced this largely built man that they claimed to be Sabertooth, the apparent reason why Logan sped off like he did.

"So, you're the one that's gotten Logan's pants in a bunch. Let me guess, you're just mad at Logan because you tried to make a move on him and he rejected you, and now you and him have this stupid rivalry going on because he wouldn't let you near his pooch." I said with a suggestive grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked growling.

"What do you think tall, gruff, and hairy? Get it through your head biker bitch; I don't think he wants you." I said. Sabertooth growled loudly before scoffing loudly and proceeding hastily towards the exit, however I ran right in front of him as he got close to the door.

"Get out of my way, or I'll shred you to pieces." He said holding up his clawed hand.

"Now wait a minute, you'd have to buy me dinner first." I said. He gave a mighty roar and swung his claws at me. I ducked under them and slid underneath the open space between his legs. I honestly didn't know what I was doing teasing and flirting with a clearly dangerous guy, but I honestly didn't care, I was having too much fun. I don't know if it was me, or my fighter's sense, but like I said, I was enjoying myself way too much to care. I jumped over him and latched onto his back.

"Tell me the truth, after this do you still think Wolverine will want you?" I said.

"Get off me! You don't know anything!" Sabertooth roared ripping me off his back. I did a backflip and landed gracefully on the ground.

"And what is that supposed to mean, candy pants?" I said with a hand on my hip.

"When I get my hands on you I'll…" He shouted charging at me. I grabbed my cloak and waited for the right moment. When Sabertooth got close to me, I jumped up and his face went into the cloak. I quickly closed his head in it and pulled his head sharply and made his head hit the ground really hard. I gasped at what I did and looked closely at him; it didn't look like he was breathing.

"_Oh shit, did I get him too hard? Dammit, not a fucking gain" _I thought getting closer to him. I looked over the part of cloak that had his face enveloped inside.

"Uh, hello? Candy pants, are you okay?" I said almost whispering. Suddenly he reached out and grabbed my ankle, tearing the cloak off his face. He then stood up and swung me around before flinging me at a car. I hit the car with a loud crash and landed in a heap on the ground. He cracked his neck and smiled wickedly.

"Yeah, I'm just fine, and the name is Sabertooth, fag." He said walking towards the exit. Hearing that word brought shivers through my body, shivers of rage.

"Stop" I said slowly getting up. Sabertooth turned around and smiled.

"What was that, fag?" He said smiling. I slowly got up and spat some blood on the ground.

"Don't… say… that word." I said wiping blood off my face. Sabertooth was smiling, he knew what I was talking about and seeing me react the way I was.

"What word are you talking about, fag?" He said.

"I said don't say that word, you bastard." I said louder.

"What word exactly, fag?" He said again.

"Stop saying 'what', you stupid bastard!" I yelled. Sabertooth's smile faded away into a confused frown.

"What?" He said.

"Do you speak English?" I shouted my jaw clenching.

"What?"

"English, mother fucker, do you speak it!?"

What, I-I don't…" He stammered. My hair suddenly burst into flames, which entangled around my hands

"Say 'what' one more time. I dare you, I double dare you mother fucker!" I shouted pointing my index and middle finger at him like a small pistol. Sabertooth then sprouted an unamused smirk on his face and scoffed.

"Are you seriously referencing Pulp Fiction at me to try and intimidate me?" Sabertooth asked. I held the position I was in and remained silent for a while before smiling.

"Yeah, but for the record I wasn't trying to intimidate you, I was trying to confuse you, and it totally worked. I totally got you!" I said shooting large clusters of fire from my fingers.

"You did not!" Sabertooth shouted charging at me again. I dodged his attack and went to the side.

"Did too." I shouted.

"No you didn't!" Sabertooth shouted.

"Yes, I did." I said.

"No, you didn't!" Sabertooth roared.

"No I didn't!" I shouted.

"Yes you did, now quit messing with me and just…" Sabertooth said spacing out for a moment. I smiled at his ludicrously stupid glorious confusion.

"Son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill you!" He shouted lunging at me. Right as he did my head engulfed itself in flames that traveled all over my body, causing my cloak to levitate.

"**Not today, candy pants." **I said, my voice taking on a darker tone. I then bathed the man in my blue fire. Seeing Sabertooth burn scared me, but I felt a strange feeling come from my gut, that made me start to laugh. Suddenly I realized what I was doing and forced the flames that engulfed me to die down. Sabertooth was on the ground, his hair was practically gone and his skin was kind of crispy.

"**Get out." **I said. Sabertooth got up and ran weakly to the exit. The flames around me died out and I just stood where I was, staring down at my hands in disbelief.

"_What am I?"_ I thought.

"Ripley!" Someone shouted. I turned around and there was Wolverine, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler emerging from the elevator. I put on a fake smile and turned to greet the other X-Men.

"Hey guys, you just missed the party. There was a biker guy, lots of flirting; it was like The Bachelorette, but without alcohol or music, but all in all it was fun. " I said. Wolverine walked up close to me and growled.

"Kid, are you crazy?" He yelled. "Sabertooth could have killed you!"

"Dude, calm down I'm okay, I'm alive, and I totally wooped his ass." I said. Wolverine put two fingers on my forehead and wiped something off. He showed me some red smears on his fingers; it was blood, my blood.

"It doesn't matter if you wooped his ass or not, bub. He's a bigger and stronger opponent that you had no idea how to fight. You see this?" He said putting his bloody fingers in my face. "This could have been just the beginning; this could not have been just a bleeding forehead. You could have died."

"If it helps my situation, I actually think he bruised a few bones and sprained my ankle. Besides that, I'm still alive." I said. Wolverine was silent for a bit.

"Like I told slim and the elf, don't fight my battles for me." He said walking off. "And we need to get that cleaned off, come on." I raised an eyebrow at Wolverine.

"Come on, come on where?" I asked.

"You're riding with me."

"I-I am? Why?" I asked.

"It's faster and safer, and as I saw from Cyke's car outside, the rest of you don't have a ride home and we don't know how hurt you are, so it would be faster if you rode with me." He said. I couldn't believe this at all.

"_Hmm, something seems suspicious."_ I thought. Cyclops and Nightcrawler walked behind me and I turned to face them. Nightcrawler was sniffing the air and holding his nose.

"Vhy does it smell like roast pig in here?" He said. I giggled at Kurt's comment.

"You don't wanna know." I said looking back at Wolverine. Cyclops walked next to me.

"Are you alright?" He asked putting a hand on my forehead, examining my wound. I brushed his hand off.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said walking to Wolverine with a slight limp, nearly falling over before Nightcrawler caught me under my arm.

"Whoa man." He said. "You look pretty messed up, you should take it easy." I let out a deep sigh.

"It seems I'm always the weak one, huh?" I said.

"No way, man. You saved our lives once and took out someone who's practically an evil and taller version Volverine. I tried going after him and all I did was bounce off him vhen I charged at him." Nightcrawler said. Hearing this perked me up a bit. Cyclops got under my other shoulder and helped Nightcrawler lead me to the elevator.

"Hey Ripley, what took you so long to get here?" Cyclops asked.

"Well…" I said.

**At the Mansion**

_When the car drove out of the institute grounds, I was already in the mansion. When I got inside, I teleported right into my room and hurriedly slipped on my uniform, however once I had everything on, I looked at myself in the mirror and frowned._

"_No, no there's something else this uniform needs." I thought. I went to my drawers and searched around for a while. Suddenly Kurt's phone started ringing. I wanted to answer it, I probably should have, but I was too wrapped into finding something to complete my uniform, because I felt that if I didn't, there would be blood._

"_God, I'm so gay." I thought. I kept going through the drawers and I eventually stumbled across a black completely black bathrobe of some sort in the bottom drawer. I looked at it for a second and my brain sparked an idea. I ran to my desk and found a small pair of manicure scissors._

"_Why the hell are there manicure scissors in my drawers? Hmm, whatever, maybe I can work with this." I said to myself slowly cutting the arms off of the robe. When I finally got the arms trimmed off, I looked around for something I could use for thread and I saw the belt of the robe. My eyes began to glow and the belt lifted itself and started slithering through the air like a serpent. I gave a slight gesture with my brow and the belt's threads uncoiled themselves from each other. The armless robe began to levitate and the end of the long piece of thread started glowing and it pierced one of the ends of the robe where I cut and began to suture the open holes together. I was in a trance; I don't know how I was doing this. It was like whatever power I had activated all at once and filled me with something of an ecstasy. When the holes were closed up, the long thread split itself in half and the robe flipped over. I stood up and pulled the collar inside out which gave it kind of an elegant look. The remaining thread crafted itself into thick long laces on the front of the collar. I grabbed the robe and slipped my head through the hole of the newly made cloak. I tightened the collar so it could fit my neck perfectly and looked at myself again in the mirror._

"_Ah, much better." I said to myself. The cloak really brought out the rest of the uniform, but there was still something wrong. I looked at the bulky gloves I was wearing and shook my head. I shed the gloves and gave one last look at the mirror, it was then I felt ready to go. I teleported out of the room, but failed to remember Kurt's phone which started to ring as I left. _

**Current Events**

Cyclops and Nightcrawler were flabbergasted by my little story.

"Wow, I can't believe the control you have over your mind powers."

"I know, I could be better than Jean, or the Professor." I said.

"Whoa, I wouldn't go that far." Cyclops said. I chuckled under my breath.

"And it wasn't me controlling my powers, it was like they knew what I wanted and they made all this crazy stuff happen that made my wish come true." I then noticed that Nightcrawler giving me a hard look.

"What?" I said to him.

"You took your sweet time just to modify your uniform?" I returned Kurt's hard look.

"Look, I have a bit of OCD that sometimes comes around and if I don't satisfy its needs, than I have this sickening feeling in my stomach that won't go away for days. That time was one of those, and if I knew that we were chasing down Wolverine, just to meet a bigger, badder version of him, no offense, sir."

"None taken." He said looking back.

"I would have had my uniform on and ready. Anyways, again I'm sorry I was late; I'll try to control myself a bit better and prepare for a battle sooner, despite the horrible sweat stains." I said.

"You'll get used to the sweat, pretty soon you don't sweat at all." Nightcrawler said.

"Well, technically that isn't true. The human body produces about ten to about 14 ounces of sweat a day." Cyclops and Nightcrawler both looked at me like I discovered their foreheads.

"I pay attention in biology class." I said. We got off the elevator and we walked a little while before reaching Wolverine's navy blue motorcycle.

"I knew that was your motorcycle Logan." I said. Wolverine gave a small grunt before putting on his helmet while the guys helped me on the cycle.

"Guys, really there isn't any need. I can get on a motorcycle without breaking my arm." Right when I said that, I remembered the scene at my house. Carl had shoved me down the stairs and I broke my arm. My arm couldn't have healed so quickly, I knew I was a quick healer, but a broken arm is a different story. I have broken a wrist and twisted an ankle, but they usually took weeks to heal. However when I woke up in the mansion, it was like I didn't have any form of injury, I didn't even remember it until that moment just then.

"Hey bub, are you okay?" Wolverine asked. I shook my head slightly and brought myself back to reality.

"Yes, I'm alright."

"Good." He said shoving a helmet in my chest. "I don't wantcha getting all loopy on me while we're riding." I gave a small scoff and put on the helmet. Cyclops put a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Cyclops asked.

"Yes, mom." I said. Nightcrawler chuckled under his breath, but stopped when Cyclops looked back at him.

"Why don't you guys go and find yourselves a way home, we'll meet you at the mansion." I said. Right as I said that, Wolverine kicked his motorcycle into gear, causing me to flinch.

"Hang on, kid." He shouted over the engine.

"To what?" I shouted. "I've never been on a cycle before."

"Just grab onto me."

"What, but I-I…" I stammered. Wolverine looked back at me through his closed helmet and I could tell he was getting impatient. "Okay." I said wrapping my arms around his chest. He revved up his motorcycle once and we sped down the ramp leading to the next floor. Behind us, Nightcrawler was looking at Cyclops with a confused expression.

"Man, vhat is up with you?" He asked.

"What?" Cyclops said.

"I know you have a thing for Jean, but vhat is up?"

"Nothing is up, trust me." He said.

"Come on, man." Nightcrawler said. Cyclops didn't speak for a while before he spoke up again.

"For the longest time, I felt I always had to protect Ripley. Guys like Duncan always gave him a hard time and picked on him and Kyle, and I was always the one to save them. I guess… I just feel I still need protect him despite myself. Even with all the rumors, " Nightcrawler walked up to Cyclops and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're his guardian angel mein freund, everyone has one." He said to his friend.

"An angel, me? I don't think so." Cyclops said.

"Trust me; if you have been protecting him all this time, you can only be his guardian angel." Nightcrawler said. Cyclops looked at his friend and smiled. "Come on, maybe if we're lucky we can get home before Logan and Ripley." Nightcrawler offered his hand to Cyclops. Cyclops grabbed it and with a small "BAMF" and a smell of brimstone they were gone.

**End of Chapter 16**

**A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter, when things get really sweaty.**


	17. Chapter 17

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. This is kind of a, well you should get the point by now. Here's part seven. Plus a little warning, there is a little mature content at the start of this chapter, so be prepared. Enjoy**

**Chapter 17: Hell on Wheels**

When we exited the parking garage, after all the god awful twists and turns, we were finally on the road. Because we were going so fast, I clutched onto Logan for dear life in fear that I was going to fall right off into open traffic. While I had my arms wrapped around him, I felt his chest move with the breaths he was taking. They were slow and calm breaths, like he wasn't scared or worried about crashing, Beneath my fingers I felt how rigid and hard his abs were, they were like concrete slabs. I laid my head on his back and through my helmet I could hear his heartbeat, it was beating loudly like a drum. I felt him stir a bit and I felt us stop, we arrived at a stop light.

"Hey kid, are you alright?" Wolverine asked. I didn't answer, I was too happy to have finally stopped, and I was too caught in the beating of Wolverine's beating heart to answer, and the vibrations coming from the motorcycles engine were exciting my nether regions and making me shiver. "Ripley?!" He shouted at me again making my head jump up. "What're you…" I looked at Wolverine's face through the large lens of his helmet and then I looked down and my dick had grown and hardened, and it was poking Logan in the back. My face deeply blushed and I looked at Wolverine's face and he simply turned his head away from me and began to speed up again as the light turned green. I was freaking out; I didn't know what he was going to say to the professor, to everyone, and what would happen to Kyle.

"_OhfuckwhathaveIdoneI'msosorryKyleohmigod!" _I thought. I felt my boner going limp, very slowly because the motorcycle kept vibrating it. Suddenly, Logan did a swift right turn into an alley, knocking over some trash cans and nearly squishing a cat. We then came across this wide open space in a square that was surrounded by small abandoned buildings, where we stopped. Logan got off the bike and turned around in front of the bike to face me. I didn't want to look at him, because I was too embarrassed to. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up.

"Ripley, look at me." He said. I strongly hesitated and wouldn't look up.

"Bub, you look at me right now!" He shouted. After hearing him yelling, my head shot up and I could not believe my eyes. Logan had stripped off his entire outfit except for the briefs, and his black leather boots and gloves.

"Logan, what…?" I said loudly. I looked at his face, and a sadistic smile spread across his bearded face, which was weird because I didn't recall him having a beard, or wearing leather boots. I couldn't help but stare at the older man, I tried to force myself to look down, but I just couldn't look away, I was too flustered to think of what would happen to me if I did.

"_Oh, my god this can't be real, please dear god or gods, or whatever, don't let this be real." _I thought, shaking in what wasn't clear to be nervousness, or anticipation, or both. And against my will, I felt my dick get hard again.

"Logan, I…"I said before he began to move his hips around like an Elvis impersonator, only a little more miniature and kind of schwarzeneggian, and started moving his hands all up and down his rippling and hardened body. "I…I…I...I…" The display of temptation made the last syllable I said replay like a broken record that wouldn't shut the hell up until he slowly walked towards me. I managed to shift my position so that both of my legs were hanging on one side of the motorcycle. I don't know if I was getting up to run, or... getting myself ready. He walked right in front of me and rubbed my knees with his gloved hands and put a finger under my chin, pushing my mouth shut. He smiled once more, and he slid his finger down my neck, making me shiver.

"Hey, relax." He whispered moving his finger down my chest. I wanted to say something, tell him to stop before things got too far, but the words "Stop" or "Please stop" or "Get the hell off me" alluded me completely, my body was completely locked into itself. He unsheathed one of his claws and sliced down the top of my outfit carefully without breaking any skin. He reached to peel the fabric off my body, but I stopped his hands, startling him. As if in a dark trance, I slowly peeled the top of my costume off and let the fabric fall off my body and drape across the back of the motorcycle. Logan leaned closely to me, his lips near my left ear. "Don't worry; just relax, it'll all be over soon." He whispered. His comment made me curious, but the curiosity faded away as I felt him planting small tender kisses down my neck, his facial hair brushing softly with them. I wrapped an arm around his neck and closed my eyes. Suddenly I felt a hot breath on the back of my neck. I let my head fall back, as I felt Logan kissing down my chest. I opened my eyes slightly and I saw someone whose head was burning a luminescent blue flame. At first I didn't recognize him, but then my eyes widened as I saw the glowing figure. It was me. I tried to get up so I could run, but Logan's muscular body was pinning me to the motorcycle and I couldn't move. My demonic looking doppelganger began to walk slowly towards me.

"Logan, get off me." I said. Logan didn't get off; instead he began to continue kissing me harder and harder, until it actually started to hurt. "Logan, we have to get out of here now." I repeated pushing on his large shoulders, but he still wouldn't budge. I looked back and evil looking me was still advancing towards us. "Get away from me!" I shouted pounding on Logans back. "Logan, would you stop for one fucking second, we're going to fucking die!" Suddenly he stopped, and I turned back to face him and my eyes widened in surprise. The gruff biker X-Man was gone, and in his place was a blonde boy about my age.

"_Kyle."_ I thought.

"Why would I stop, you always wanted us like this, and now you can get what you want, like you always do. Or am I not good enough for you… Josh?" He said pinning me to the bike, which began to shift into a metal bed that was covered with large black thorns. I turned around and the doppelganger had vanished, but when I turned back around he had Kyle in his arms.

"Get away from him!" I yelled standing up from the bed, but the large thorns impaled me and held me in place. I screamed in bleeding pain as blood began to run freely onto the ground. I looked at them once more and they were about to kiss. "No, please you can't take him. Please I need him." They both turned their heads at me and they both began to laugh sinisterly.

"What are you talking about Josh?" Kyle said. "You left me, and you gave me to Ripley against my will."

"I don't understand." I said with tears flowing down my face.

"Of course you don't." A voice said. I looked up and there was Carl, but he was on fire and his skin was bubbling off of him, and right onto me, burning me. "After all, like father, like son, right?"

"No, this isn't right." I said quietly to myself. I looked over at the Dark Ripley and Kyle, and they were furiously making out. The Dark Ripley's face was burning Kyle's face more and more with every second and kiss. "Stop this!" I yelled trying to free myself from the thorns. I looked over again, and the Dark Ripley was on his hands and knees, hanging over Kyle, his head now completely burnt to ashes. "Stop it, stop it, stop it, **STOP IT!" **I screamed. As I screamed a light engulfed me, and I heard a voice.

"_Ripley, wake up."_ I recognized this voice, and I felt myself dive into the light towards it. I felt myself burst awake. I was still blind with fear and confusion that I couldn't control my actions. My body was going into major spasms and I couldn't stop screaming.

"Ripley, Ripley calm down." The voice said. I felt someone embrace me in a hug. I felt myself wake up fully, and I saw the person who was hugging me, it was Jean. "Hey Ripley, it's okay. It's over." She said. I felt my emotions get the better of me and I embraced Jean, and I felt all the horror of my nightmare poured out of me uncontrollably.

**End of Chapter 17**

**A/N: This was actually a lot darker than I intended it to be, but hey I'm not complaining, because honestly I couldn't be any more satisfied with the turn out. Review and favorite, and stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**A/N: This chapter corresponds to S1: Episode 02 of X-Men Evolution. Enjoy**

**Chapter 18: Taking Control**

"Ripley, calm down, it's alright." Scott said. I couldn't hear anything he said, I was crying too much to understand what anyone was saying. Jean had her arms wrapped around me and was patting my back gently to try and calm me down. After a few minutes, I felt myself calm down a bit, tears were still running down my face, but I wasn't screaming any more. I looked around where I was, and I recognized this place to be the same hospital like setting I woke up to the first time I was here. In the room were Jean, Scott, Kurt, and a new girl I've never seen before. I also saw Xavier roll up to me in his chair.

"Are you alright Ripley?" He asked. I wiped the tears from my face and sighed.

"Yes, I'm fine now. I'm sorry about before, I had a horrible nightmare." I said.

"Vhat about?" Kurt asked. My gut clenched and I felt the need to cry again.

"Oh man, I'm sorry Ripley, if it's too hard to talk about…" Kurt said.

"No, Kurt, it's okay to be curious, but if it's alright with the rest of you, I'd rather not talk about it." I said.

"It's alright Ripley; you don't have to discuss it with us if you're not comfortable with it." Xavier said. I looked at my hands and my chest; they were covered in bandages and large white patches.

"What happened to me? Why am I in here…again?" I asked.

"You kind of fainted on us." Scott said.

"And you were like, totally freaking out." The new girl said. I looked at her with a raised brow and silence was in the room for a couple minutes.

"Ripley, I would like you to meet Kitty Pryde." Xavier said. I looked at her again and she gave a nervous laugh and a wave "hello". I returned the greeting with a friendly nod and a hello. I turned around again to face the professor.

"How did I black out? When did I black out?" I asked.

"According to Scott and Kurt, they had gotten you to Logan's motorcycle for transport, but when you got there, you suddenly passed out and Kurt had to teleport you back to the school instead." I turned to face Kurt and he gave me a friendly smile.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Only a few hours, nothing big." Scott said.

"What time is it?" Kurt checked his watch.

"It's 7:30 at night." He said. I gave out a long deep sigh and held my head in my hands.

"_Dammit."_ I thought. Visiting hours at the hospital were long gone for the day, and I wanted to see Kyle so bad that day: in person and not as a nightmare in my dreams. Scott got grew a regretful look on his face.

"Oh… I'm sorry Ripley; I know that you wanted to see Kyle today." Scott said. I looked up at him and a small smile crept up on my face.

"Thank you Scott." I said. I saw Logan out in the hallway and I felt something… weird. When I was looking at him my mind flashed to the raunchy scene in my dream, and my eyes just didn't want to look away from him. Logan saw me staring off into space at him and he stood up to walk towards me. I shook my head and rubbed my temples with my fingers.

"Are you okay Ripley?" Scott asked.

"Yes, just… I just feel wiped out that's all." I said.

"You should get back to sleep; it's probably the fight with Sabertooth that made you so exhausted." Xavier said. I shot up out of my bed.

"Absolutely not, I have slept enough this week to make an insomniac jealous, and I am not going to squander the rest of the evening on more sleep." I said in a bold tone that startled everyone in the room, me included. I removed the bandages on my arms and brushed the little dust particles off my shoulders. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a missed prior engagement that I have to get to." I walked towards the exit before stopping in front of Jean. "Jean, if you heard about what happened to Duncan today, I know he probably won't except it, but give him my sincerest apologies for earlier today, and stay out of my way." I walked out of the room and bumped into Logan outside of the room. The images from the dream were still fresh in my mind and I felt a dark lust grow inside of me. "Thank you for your help Logan." I said quickly before walking to the elevator and letting out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile everyone in the room behind me still had their mouths hanging open.

"What was that?" Kitty said.

"After his mutation, Ripley sometimes goes into this more provocative state. He gets really bold, fierce, and kind of, what's the word I'm looking for…?" Scott said.

"Bitchy?" Kitty said. Everyone turned and stared at her. "What, sometimes I get like that and my friends back home always told me I acted like that sometimes." Jean looked at Scott with a raised brow.

"What happened to Duncan today?" She asked. Scott rubbed the back of his head; he knew that a long conversation was going to come.

Professor Xavier turned his head and looked at the elevator door. Inside the elevator, I was crying some more.

"_I hate this; I hate this so fucking much!"_ I thought. _"I didn't ask for this, I didn't ask to be alive, I didn't ask to be gay, I didn't ask to be a goddamn mutant! I hate not being in control of things, for once can I be in control of something?"_ I kept crying for a bit before the elevator stopped on my designated floor. I wiped my face off and stepped out of the elevator car and ran to my room. When I got there, I removed my uniform and put on a grey hoodie and dark blue jeans. I also found the gloves from my uniform I discarded before and put those on. I looked at my balcony doors and as if on some insane instinct ran right to them. I burst through the doors and jumped onto the edge of the balcony.

"_Wait a minute, what the hell am I doing?" _I thought jumping from the edge into the air. "NO!" I yelled covering my face with my hands, after a few seconds, I peeked between my fingers and saw the ground about as far as it was when I eyes widened as I realized what I was doing; I wasn't floating like the last couple times, I was flying, I was actually flying. _"Oh…my…god." _I thought. I leaned forward and I found myself propelling fast.

"WHOA DADDY!" I screamed as I flew over the coastline behind the mansion. I leaned back a little bit stabilized myself. _"Okay, calm down Ripley, you got this, you got this."_ I thought to myself looking down at the water. Suddenly I felt myself fall towards it. "FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKKK!" I shouted as I just about hit the water. I opened my eyes and I found that I had stopped right above it. I reached out and whisked my hand through it, giggling to myself despite myself. I looked up and let my head lead my body in the direction it was looking in. I felt myself to be kind of unbalanced, but I felt myself go into a position I felt was more stable. Once I felt I was in control of my flight pattern and flying fast, I found myself laughing uncontrollably. "WOO-HOO!" I screamed many times over. I went down closer to the water and ran my hands through it. It was cold and was giving off mist that smelled fantastic. I then went into an upwards spiral close to the water and it went upwards into something that resembled a cyclone, but burst on the top giving a fountain like effect. I smiled at my feat of skill before I took notice of a large cruise ship a little ways in the distance.

"_Aw, yeah!"_ I thought to myself zooming off in the direction of the ship. When I was about halfway to the ship, I remembered what Professor X said about keeping the existence of mutants a secret, and that I still had to go see Kyle in the hospital. I flew straight up into the sky to get a layout of where I was. Everywhere I looked; there was nothing but the vast majority of the sea.

"Well shit." I said. "Wait a minute." I suddenly remembered that I could teleport, I wasn't sure how far I was or how close I could get to the mansion, but I had to find some way to get back. I closed my eyes and pictured the Cliffside that overlooked the shoreline below, it was so clear in my head, and I could smell the ocean, mostly because I was floating over it (go figure). I then imagined Scott's car in the garage and concentrated hard on the garage. I felt a rush of wind and the smell of the ocean went away, and the smell of concrete and rubber replaced it. I opened my eyes, and there I was in the garage.

"Yeah, looks like we got this." I said to myself. I walked over to the door and opened it. I walked out and flew off in the direction the hospital was. After a couple minutes of flying, I reached the hospital and floated around the windows of the fourth floor of the hospital and eventually I found Kyle's room. The sight before me made me want to cry, I saw him lying there, still hooked up to a whole bunch of machines, and still showing no chances of waking up. I teleported inside of the room near his bed and reached out to touch his hand, but strangely I felt my hand stop in its place. My mind flashed back to the nightmare, and the images with Kyle and that dark version of me, and what he said to me, how I gave him up; how the Josh he knew and loved gave him to a completely different person, my Ripley persona. When I went by the other name my parents gave me, Kyle and I were the happiest people in the world when we were together, but after I donned my current name, I became someone different, someone who was controlling and neglectful of my love's emotions. Tears streamed down my face as I came to a conclusion on what I had to do, for both of our sakes. I walked near him and smiled a bit.

"Kyle? It's me, Josh." I said. "And I don't mean Ripley, Ripley doesn't deserve you because he is a pathetic coward with superiority issues, but then again, neither do I. I'm the one who gave forcefully gave you away to David Ripley, because I was trying to escape all the loss we both had, and instead of dealing with it I became someone you didn't want anything to do with, all the events of the past few days led to this. You almost died because of me, and I promise you that nothing like that will ever happen again." I put a hand on his cheek and leaned in close to his face, my lips nearly touching his forehead. "Forget Ripley, forget me, and forget all that we were. I was nothing but another random face you would never see again. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can; you need to forget me completely, and for your sake, I hope you and I never meet again." I kissed him once on his forehead and teleported out of his room, just as a nurse came in, but something I didn't see is that this nurse was concealing something in her outfit.

**Later at the Mansion**

When I teleported out of Kyle's room, I found myself in the main foyer of the mansion. I didn't know how I should have felt at that moment, I didn't know if I was supposed to feel relieved at what I had done, or to be completely destroyed emotionally.

"Ah, so you've come back." I looked to the right of the stairway and saw Professor X emerge from the next room.

"Professor, I didn't mean to just up and leave like that, I know that you were trying to help and I…" I said.

"Calm down Ripley, it's okay. I understand that you had to leave to go and see the one you love. How is he?" I looked at him for a second before looking right away again.

"He's in the same condition he was in the last time I was there and…" I said trying not to let my voice choke up. "I told him to forget me." Professor X looked startled at my statement, but then he gave me a kind of understanding look.

"I understand." He said. I looked at him with a confused face.

"What, did you just read my mind just now?" I said.

"I didn't have to. I know that with all the power you have, you feel that you would be an immense danger to Kyle, and you think that he would be safer away from you." He said. My head went down to face the floor.

"Yes." I said in almost a whisper. "If anything happened to him, or anyone else, I don't know how I could live with myself. I killed my father, I nearly killed Kyle and Duncan, and I just about incinerated Sabertooth. As the big anthropocentric bags of dicks some of them are, I shouldn't have done what I did to them, if I just let the power completely envelop me, I'm scared that I'll just turn into a soulless monster with no sense of remorse. I can't handle all these powers, it's just too much." Professor X got an inquisitive look on his face and held his chin in his hand. After a couple minutes, I was about to leave the room when Xavier spoke up.

"I think there is a way I can help you." He said. "Come with me." He turned around back into the next room and I followed after him. I followed Xavier into what looked like a large living room with shelves chock full of books all over the place.

"_Whoa…"_ I thought looking all around. Xavier stopped his chair in front of a comfortable looking red chair.

"Please, sit." He said. I raised a brow and walked towards the chair. I sat in the chair and nearly melted into the seat because it was so comfortable. I sat up straight in the seat and looked at Xavier.

"This is a comfy seat Professor, but I'm assuming that you had something else to show me besides a lavish chair, so go ahead and spill." I said. Xavier rolled a little closer to me.

"I have a theory on your abilities; from what I have seen and heard about them, it would seem that most of your abilities are focused around negative emotions or memories." He said.

"Yes, I have noticed this plenty of times, whenever I'm really stressed or angry, or even feel like I'm under attack, my mood shifts and I tap into this darker side of me that I never knew I had. And sometimes if it gets really serious, blue flames start spurting all over me and I feel myself go deeper into this dark side, and I feel nothing but adrenaline, and an ecstasy that makes me go crazy. I've always sheltered my emotions because I felt that if I retaliated in anyway, I would regret it." I said.

"Your emotional turmoil has always been closed off from the world, as you told Scott and Jean once, but it would seem that your mutation is tapering with your subconscious' desire to keep your emotions sheltered, and it's letting out all of the turmoil at once and making you lash out at the people you considered your enemies." My eyes widened at this statement.

"Enemies? What do you mean, like Kyle? He is not an enemy to me."

"Maybe your subconscious thinks otherwise. You had spent so much time trying to protect the both of you from everyone and everything, maybe deep down you regretted giving such a hard task to yourself." I felt my mood shift, and I felt my fighter's sense preparing itself.

"You don't know what you're talking about old man. You said you had a way to help me, but I have yet to see this "help" you're offering, instead you're poking and prodding into matters that are of no concern to you." I said in a menacing tone. Xavier got a slight surprised look on his face. I took notice of his face and held my face in my hands.

"God, I'm sorry. I know you're asking because you care, I didn't mean to…" I said.

"Ripley, it's alright. I'm here, and I will help you." He rolled up right next to me.

"It's apparent to me that because of all the trauma and grief you had been through all this time has left you emotionally unstable. The pain from which may be feeding the powers that make you act aggressive. With your permission, I would like to hopefully remove some of that pain." He said. I looked up at him with a questionable look.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I don't believe in using my powers like this except when it is of uttermost importance that I do, but I'm hoping that I can purge some of the bad memories from your mind, and hopefully make you less of a danger to yourself and others. I agree that the power you have is too much for you to handle, but I believe that it would be best to remove the source of the aggressive side of those powers and hopefully remove some of them, if not stabilize them." I leaned over and rested my head on my closed hands.

"Remove my memories?" I asked.

"Only a few of the negative ones that give your dark side more strength." I sat deep in thought wondering to myself if I could really do this, if I could forget a whole bunch of life changing moments that made me who I am. The firestorm that took away what few friends I had, Kyle's grandparents, and my mother, the systematic abuse from my father that made me pacifistic and too controlled, but I also wondered if I forgot those things, would they make me a stronger, and happier person. And also in the back of my mind, I always tried to find out who I am, maybe this treatment would help that come.

"I will allow you to remove the memories, but first I must ask something of you." I said.

"What is it Ripley?" He said.

"Will you please give me a couple days to allow me to write a journal of everything that happened before you scramble my memories? If something were to happen, and I would need to remember something in my past, I would read these journal pages and recall everything that happened before then." I said. Xavier held his chin in his hand for a couple seconds before speaking up again.

"Of course Ripley."

"I also need you to promise me that you will keep this journal locked away for me, keep it hidden."

"I promise you Ripley, if the need should arise, I will point you to those pages." He said. I stood up from the chair and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you Professor, this means a lot to me." I said. Xavier put his hand upon mine and smiled.

"It's why I'm here Ripley." He said. I smiled as I released his shoulder and walked out of the room and up to mine. When I got there I crashed onto the bed and cried loudly into my pillow.

**End of Chapter 18**


	19. Chapter 19

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**A/N: The events of this chapter take place before the events of Season 01 :03**

**Chapter 19: Accidental revenge **

I woke up the next morning with a feeling of nausea, and a slight wave of euphoria that I didn't understand. It had been a few hours since I broke things off with Kyle and I felt a different combination of different emotions that fused and separated with each other at the same time, which left me feeling, in a sense… numb, plus I was up for a few extra hours honing my mind powers. I stretched once before going to my dresser and pulled out a journal. Inside the journal there were many entries that had dates written above each entry, however most of the dates were incomplete, as were most of the journal entries. I opened the journal and began to write in today's date and what I had planned to do that day before closing it and putting it away. I wanted to get every single detail right so that I could recall everything I would lose when Xavier would purge my mind; however I was still feeling skeptical about it. I wanted to forget everything that happened to me, everything that made me who I am today, but at the same time I was also thinking, "what if I embrace the things that happened, and try and make amends for the things that I have done?", that kind of thing. I shook my head and put the journal back in the dresser. I opened a couple other drawers and put on a red sleeveless shirt, some black jeans, and a white hoodie and flew out of my room, literally. I had only discovered this a few hours ago and I still couldn't believe that I could fly, floating was one thing, but actual flight was just too much. Unlike most of my other powers, I felt that I was in full control of this one. Speaking of which, I still had yet to tell Jean about what had happened to Duncan. I had heard from Scott that he only had a few bruised ribs, as well as a bruised ego, and most likely a branch up his ass for it. I don't think that I haven't told Jean about this yet, in fact I know I haven't, and I know that no one told her yet because she's still so... calm and serene.

I was lying down on the main foyer's ceiling, enjoying the feeling of defying gravity, but against my own will I was also thinking about Kyle, and his foster parents Rob and Julie. I flew a couple times to his window and saw them in tears when they would come in and sit and get up to leave. I felt damn horrible, I wanted to walk in and break down in tears in apology, but I also felt that I had to just stay away because I was too scared of what they would say and that my emotions would overcome me again and I would kill the only two people Kyle had left. I kind of considered it a miracle they hadn't contacted me. I still loved him, I know I did, but for our sakes, I couldn't risk hurting him again, or anyone else. I floated down from the ceiling and walked to the breakfast room, where Jean, Scott, Kurt, and the new recruit Kitty were. I had talked with Kitty a couple times, and she seems pretty chill, a little naïve, but chill.

"Mornin' my peeps!" I shouted out as I entered the room. Everyone gave me a funny look and a smile.

"Morning Rip." Scott said. I smiled at Scott's nickname for me.

"Hey Ripley." Kurt said with a wave.

"Morning Ripley." Jean said. Kitty gave a small smile and a gentle wave. I looked at the cabinets and with a bit of concentration, opened one of them and a bowl floated out, while a spoon floated out of a nearby drawer. In the past couple days I have been practicing my mental powers all night, and so far I had just about reached a little past the beginner's level, so y'know, baby steps. When the bowl and spoon landed on the table, my mind reached into the pantry and pulled out a box of cereal, while a carton of milk slid across the table to where I was about to sit.

"Hey Ripley, it looks like you're getting a grasp on your powers." Scott said.

"Yes I am. I practiced all night, and I think I have some kind of grasp. Actually more like a hanging by my fingers on a cliff side, but a grasp nonetheless." I said willing the box open and making it float over my bowl, making the cereal pour out gently.

"Go cereal master!" Kurt shouted.

Suddenly the box went completely upside down and Raisin Bran scattered all over the table.

"_Shit!"_ I thought.

"Dammit, not again." I said under my breath and standing up blushing in embarrassment.

"Oops." Kurt said blushing as well.

I began to vigorously sweep the cereal into the box with my hands. "Here, let me help." Jean said touching her temples with her fingers and bit by bit the remaining cereal on the table went back into the box, while other pieces from my bowl flowed into the box until there was an appropriate amount in the bowl. I rubbed the back of my head and sighed.

"So much for practice." I said giving a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry man." Kurt said.

"Hey it's okay. Some people make mistakes, it would seem the both of us are more prone to do so than others." I said.

"Yah, I guess so... I mean, hey!" He said.

Everyone laughed along with me before I looked in Jean's direction. "Thanks Jean."

"No problem." She said. I looked at Jean, and wanting to tell her the events of yesterday, but hesitated and began to hurriedly scarf down my cereal. Scott saw me and pulled a seat next to me.

"Hey Rip, you okay?" He asked.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I'm fine." I said kind of nearvously. Scott raised an eyebrow.

"You sure?" He said.

"Yeah, I'm rolling in puppies and rainbows." I said with a fake smile, while inside I felt my heart was rolling in broken glass and hot tar.

**Later**

After I was done with breakfast, I got my shoes on and grabbed a new cell phone that Xavier was kind enough to buy for me and was about to head out the door before I stopped myself.

_"Dammit, if I don't do this now I'll regret it fifty plus years later." _I thought As I teleported and found myself in front Jean's bedroom door, and the funny thing is that I didn't know that it was Jean's room, but I just felt like I knew she was behind the door. I gulped nervously, because I was afraid to tell her what happened to Duncan and I had no idea how she would react. I knocked on the door a couple times and waited a while before she opened the door.

"Hey Ripley, what's up?" Jean said brushing her long red hair. I rubbed the back of my neck, nervous of what I was about to say.

"Hey… Jean, um, did anyone tell you what happened to Duncan yesterday?" I said holding my arm with my other hand.

"Yeah, I heard that he got hit in the chest pretty hard and he had to be rushed to the nurse's office, why?" She said.

"_Eeeeuuuu…"_ I thought. "It's kind of hard for me to say this." I said. Jean gave me a raised brow and put her brush down on her dresser.

"Ripley, what happened?" She said.

"I may have kinda went a little crazy in gym class, and we were playing dodge ball, and when I threw my ball at him, it hit his chest, and he just, collapsed on the floor." I said in a disappointed tone. Jean had kind of a shocked look on her face. "Jean, I'm so sorry that I hurt him, I know that in some freakish way you care for him, and you know I wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally, and I know I should have told you, but I was being selfish and burying myself in my own crap to think to care, and I just…" Jean touched my shoulder gently.

"Ripley, Ripley, calm down, I know it was an accident." She said softly.

"You do?" I said with a raised brow.

"Yes, like you said, I know that you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, and you did have some stuff on your plate that you couldn't ignore, it's alright." She said. I let out a short sigh.

"Oh god, thank you. I've been feeling so bad about this, and you just made me feel so much better, thank you." I said.

"You're welcome." She said.

"Now if you could do me one more favor?" I asked.

"Sure." Jean said.

"I haven't talked to Duncan about this, and I'm too scared of what would happen if I tried to apologize to him face to face by myself. Could you be with me when I'm apologizing to him? I don't want to accidently hurt him again, but I will defend myself if he gets violent with me, and I would like it if you could be there to help prevent that." I said.

"Of course." Jean said. I grabbed Jean's hand with both hands.

"Thank you so much Jean." I said letting go of her hands. "I know he'll initially not want to speak to me, so tell him to meet at the tables outside at lunch with you." I said turning around to walk away.

"Ripley." Jean said. I turned back around and looked towards her. "Duncan will understand that it was an accident, I know he will." She said. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed.

"I don't know about that Jeannie, but I guess I'll have to take your word for it." I said. Jean had a confused look on her face.

"Jeannie?" She said.

"Yeah, I keep making up nicknames for everyone, I really don't know why. I guess it's just a charming quality that I never knew I had." I said with a half-smile. Jean gave me a little smile like the one she gave me four days ago when I was in the nurse's office, when my powers emerged. And it was still the nicest smile anyone had given me. I teleported away to face the events later that day with some new surges of boundless confidence.

**A few hours later (Outside of Bayville High)**

I was sitting down at a bench outside where I would meet Jean and Duncan. I was twiddling around with the pasta on my plate and clicking my heels together, maybe trying to wake myself up and hopefully finding myself wake up in a black and white Kansas. The boundless confidence had apparantly ran out of me as the day progressed on footprint by footprint and it left me in the same horrid state I was in this morning.

"Ripley!" Someone called out. I jumped inside my skin and turned around. There was Jean and Duncan walking together arm and arm towards me. Duncan saw me and frowned really big.

"Jean, why are we walking towards him?" Duncan said.

"Duncan, Ripley has some words he would like to say to you." She said.

"No, I'm not going near that freak." He said.

"Duncan, please just give him a chance." She said. I looked at him and Duncan had this angry look on his face that made me want to crawl into a corner and die. He gave out a sigh of defeat and both he and Jean walked to the bench and sat in the seats in front of me. I didn't want to look at him, but I reluctantly felt my head stay up and look at him and stare him in the face.

"If you're going to say something fag, say it instead of looking at me like that." He said.

"Duncan!" Jean said nudging his arm. I clenched my fist and almost felt myself drift away into my fighter's sense, but I relaxed my hands and took a large breath.

"You know what; I've had enough of this." I said.

"Huh?" Duncan said with a gaping mouth.

"I thought if I could get you to come here and talk with me so that we can get all the turmoil out in the open, try and move past it, and try to converse like reasonable human beings, but I guess you want the contention and the rumors to get worse. And don't think I don't know what you're thinking 'oh, they won't get me because I'm the king of the football team and he's a lowly faggot', well guess what hotshot? The rumors now involve you too, and unless we start to talk to each other like rational human beings, all this bullshit won't go away and we'll both be ruined. So enough with the petty name calling and let's just talk." I said. Duncan leaned back and folded his arms.

"Alright, go ahead." He said. I leaned forward a bit.

"Now, first I strongly apologize about hurting you, it wasn't my intention to hurt you and I'm sorry that I did." I said. Duncan looked kind of surprised at my apology.

"Yeah, whatever. " He said dully. I couldn't believe how insensitive he was was, all this guilt tripping and that's all I got. I felt my fighter's sense overcome me and I felt myself slip away. "Second, I'm not going to deny this anymore, I am gay, and Kyle Daniels was my boyfriend, but I guess you already knew that, didn't you?" I said.

"What're you talking about?"

"We can be here all day long if we need to Duncan. Just answer the question; did you know I was actually gay, yes or no?" I said. Duncan sighed in annoyance and leaned forward.

"Yes, I did know, what does it have to do with it?" He said.

"A lot of it actually, now why did you feel the need to belittle and call me names?" I asked. Duncan didn't say anything. "Was it because it was fun?"

"Yeah, it was." He said with a kind of smug grin.

"Why?" I said.

"Why…" He said in a mocking tone.

"Why was it fun for you, why is it fun for you to make fun of people who are different?" I said. Something strange I didn't notice is that the whole time, I wasn't blinking. I was just looking straight at Duncan in the face awaiting his next answer to my question.

"Because you people are perverts and I don't need some guy checking out my junk 24/7, okay?!" He said in a defensive tone while also standing up.

"Duncan Mathews!" Jean said in a surprised tone.

"Okay first: not all of 'us people' are out to convert every guy we see, second: hardly everyone would think to tap that, and third is there is hardly any other gay guy besides me who attends this school, besides Kyle who's in the hospital for god knows how long, so the only one you are referring to have been checking out your junk 24/7 is me, so I ask… did you or did you not see me checking you out? Because of the way you were treating me and my disgust for you stereotypical jock types, I wouldn't even think for even a half of a second to check you out, so again I ask, did you, or did you not, actually see me checking you out?" I said boldly. Duncan looked awe struck, as if he didn't know how to answer me. "Answer my question Mathews, yes or no, no or yes?" He gave out a small growling noise before he finally answered.

"NO!" He said loudly. People began to look towards us.

"And yet, you chose to bother me any way, even when you didn't physically see me look at you. I knew what kind of a person you were when I first met you, and I was initially repulsed, so I ask why were you bothering me when I wasn't bothering you?" I said with a slight frown.

"It's because… i-it's because…" He stammered.

"It's because you don't get enough attention isn't it?" I said.

"What?" Duncan said.

"You don't get enough attention at home and still not enough at school, and so you work really hard to make sure you get all the glory. You beat up the nerds, the geeks, the fags, date the pretty girls, and you know that this would make you a deity among mortals to your jock friends and to get attention from your parents. So here you are still trying your hardest to get as many trophies as possible and flaunt them about to make everyone think you're worth a shit. It's one of the main reasons you're dating Jean isn't it?" I said.

"Ripley!" Jean shouted.

"You don't really care about her, you just love lugging her around like one of those useless trophies, thinking like she's like said trophies, am I right?" I said with venom in my voice.

"I don't have to answer to you, you fag!" Duncan shouted standing up.

"Duncan!" Jean shouted.

"_Oh, it looks like I hit a sensitive spot." _I thought_._

"Am I not wrong about you, about what Jean and I mean to you, absolutely nothing?" I said. "I have seen how you talk about yourself and how great you think you are, and how you talk so little about her. And when you do talk about her, it's mostly about how hot and pretty she is, and nothing else."

"Shut up!" Duncan shouted,

"It's not about how nice she is, not how she makes you happy, and not how much meaning she holds for you. No, you talk about her like she's just some other bimbo at this school."

"Shut up!" He shouted throwing a fist at me. I grabbed his arm and slammed it down on the table making his shout in pain and sit down. I then pulled and twisted his arm into a position that no one can get out of and held onto his arm tight.

"Look at her Mathews, look at her and tell her that what I said is not false, and you better say it like you're telling the truth, I won't stand to have you make me a liar. And you better not talk like you just want me to let go of your arm, otherwise I will claim it for myself for sure this time." I said. Duncan looked at Jean, and Jean at him, she had a saddened look of worry on her face.

"Duncan is what Ripley's saying true?" Jean said softly. After a couple of minutes and hesitation, Duncan nodded his head slightly. Jean gasped once before grabbing her bag and running off silently crying. I felt a twinge of guilt inside of me as I felt my mind return all the way. I had intended to try to make things better between Duncan and me, but instead I made things worse and I made Jean cry. I let go of Duncan at stared at him in anger.

"I want you to think long and hard about yourself and about others and how you treat them. And after that, i expect some positive changes from you, am I in any shape or form unclear? " I said. Duncan shook his head rapidly. " Now get out of my sight. " Duncan took off behind me and I took off running in the direction Jean went. I ran for a while before stopping and touching my temples to try and find her with my telepathy.

"_Jean, can you hear me?"_ I thought. I waited a couple minutes and no response followed my message.

"Ripley!" Someone shouted. I turned around and there was Scott running towards me. "I saw Jean running and crying, what happened?" He said. I turned away from him. "Ripley?"

"It was my fault Scott, I was trying to apologize for hurting Duncan, but he said some things, and I lashed out at him with questions, and then I started saying stuff and I just let myself keep going on and on and I…" I said.

"Ripley, what happened?" Scott said grabbing my shoulders, snapping me out of my babble.

"I made Duncan tell Jean that he really doesn't give a shit about her and now she's crying and... oh god, what have I done Scott?" I said holding the bridge of my nose.

"Ripley, it's okay really. You did the right thing to make Duncan tell the truth. Jean deserves better than Duncan." He said. I turned away from him.

"_Then why don't I feel so good?" _I thought putting my fingers on my temples again and closing my eyes. _"Jean, I'm so sorry I upset you. It was not my intention to do that I promise. Please… just tell me where you are." _There was a brief moment of silence beforeva voice rang in my

"_I'm over here."_ Jean's voice said. I looked over to where I felt the voice was coming from and ran in that direction.

"This way." I said to Scott. He followed close behind me and we both ran until we reached the spot where I felt Jean was really close by; the only problem about this is it led us to the back of one of the school's buildings and I didn't see Jean anywhere.

"Jean?" Scott said loudly.

"Jean, where are you?" I shouted.

"_Look up."_ Jean's voice said. I walked back and saw Jean on top of the roof.

"Found her." I said to Scott. He walked towards me and looked at where I was looking and sighed in relief. I put my arm over Scott's and he put his over mine and we both flew to the rooftop to where Jean was and landed gracefully on the roof.

"Jean?" Scott said. Jean looked at us with wet and red teary eyes.

"You know hundreds of birds take a crap up here all the time?" I said. Scott looked at me with a slight glare. "What, I was just saying."

"The way I feel right now, I think it kind of suits me." Jean said.

"Jean, about what just happened..." I said.

"It's okay Ripley, really. I just can't believe I managed to let myself get swept away by that pompous ass." She said. I widened my eyes at Jean's choice of words. Not once I have heard her swear, not even once. If I wasn't feeling guilty I would feel something along the lines of accomplishment.

"Scott, why don't you stay with Jean, I'm going to get something from the vending machines. Do you guys want something; water, soda, chips?" I said.

"No, thank you Ripley." Jean said holding her knees in her arms.

"Okay." I said turning around and nearly walking off the building before turning back and seeing Scott sitting next to a crying Jean and wrapping an arm around her back. Jean leaned in close to Scott and continued crying. I knew that Scott was crushing on Jean, so maybe this wasn't a total loss. Scott looked at me and I at him with a smile and a thumbs up.

"Shut up." He mouthed at me. I shrugged my shoulders in response and jumped off the building, floating gently to the ground. When I touched down, the guilt overcame me and my brain flooded itself with questions, and plausible answers. "_Why did I do that?_ _What, I cant be happy so everyone has to be alone and miserable like me? No, I did the right thing. Jeannie deserves better than Mathews, and maybe that's Scott. Aw, what hell am I talking about he's Scott Summers for Christ's sake of course he's better for her. They're actually kind of cute together." _Suddenly I got a feeling in my stomach, different from guilt or relief from guilt, but like I knew I was being watched. I turned around and no one was there. I shrugged my shoulders and look back slightly again once before walking to the main school building where my locker was. On the way I saw Kitty Pryde and walked over to her, I needed someone to talk to to relieve myself of the uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"Hey Kitty." I said.

"Oh, hey Ripley." She said.

"How was your day?"

"It was okay I think, different school and all, you know?"

"Oh yeah, I totally get that. I got here almost the same way you did, and at the start of my sophmore year." I said.

"Did they come to your house and try to tal you into coming, and despite a lot of crap you decided to come anyway?" She asked.

"What? Oh, no. They came after I accidently blew up my house." I said.

"What?" She said loudly.

"I said 'accidentally', don't worry you're not in danger, I think." I said.

"So, like, what happened to you? How did you get caught up in all this?" She asked. I started walking with a gesture for her to follow me.

"Well, it's kind of a long story." I said with Kitty walking next to me. Behind us, a tall figure stood behind a large tree looking right at me. He had a kind of purple and fiery designed xiaolin looking outfit on and he was talking into a strange looking device made of stone.

"The boy appears to be getting better aquainted with his powers." He said.

_"Xavier's school must be doing its part well, but it is only focusing his mutant talents, the rest of the boy's power will remain a mystery." _A voice rang from the device.

"Master, I'm still curious why do we not reveal ourselves to him." The man said.

_"He has not matured enough mentally and emotionally, he isnt ready to face the truth yet. And the hardship he has experienced in life are not things that are not to be easily forgotten. That is what Xavier's purpose is, to teach him control and decisiveness."_

"And if he is to overcome these trials and his tragic past?"

_"He will, and he won't." _

"Master?"

_He will learn to embrace them and move forward, but also gain strength from the trials. He has to, for the sake of the world as we know it today, and hope the future I have forseen doesn't come to pass."_

**End of Chapter 19**

**A/N: It appears that Ripley has some kind of guardian angels watching over him. What is their purpose in watching Ripley? I'm sure we'll find out later after we see what happens when the X-Men meet a certain white streaked haired mutant, or later if we're lucky. Stay tuned Ripleyvers (yes I merged Ripley with believers, and yes it sounds kind of Justin Bieber or whatever, but I dont't care I intend to make it a thing. It's pronounced Rip-uh-leevers by the way.)**


	20. Chapter 20

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**A/N: Hey everyone, thank you all who have read my story and have read it this far, Ripley and I are very pleased. And I'm sorry if the story gets kind of slow sometimes, I'll try to speed it up a bit. **

**Chapter 20: Dreams of Pain/Visions of Power**

After a grueling day at school, accidently breaking Jean and Duncan up, and spilling my guts to Kitty, I desperately needed a nap. Plus for some reason I still felt like somebody was watching me, which made it difficult for me to get to sleep. I went to my desk and pulled out the journal and wrote the day's events down. Xavier was expecting an answer from me on if I wanted to purge the bad memories and lessen the danger of my emotional turmoil's effect on my powers. After a few minutes of pondering and writing I finally managed to get to sleep, and I began to dream. I found myself in an empty space covered in a bright light. I walked forwards looking all around for other people because I felt someone besides me was out there somewhere.

"_Hello? Is anybody out there?"_ I shouted into the white. _"Could someone tell me where I am?" _

"_You should know." _ A voice said behind me. I turned around and there was a large mirror with my reflection staring directly at me, only I felt that there was something off about it, like it was a separate being that was talking to me.

"_What should I know, what is this place?" _ I asked my reflection.

"_This is the inside of your mind after tomorrow, devoid of everything that made everything about it special for the travesty and hardship you endured." _It said.

"_What I endured? Isn't it a 'we' thing here, well because you're my reflection. And what the hell do you mean 'endured'? I've pretty much suffered all my life."_ I said feeling the place turn around and upside down. My reflection morphed into a little boy with brown hair and blue eyes covered in bruises and his lip was bleeding. I recognized this boy as myself when I was younger and very weak.

"_And yet, you haven't tried to end yourself to end the suffering. This is how you were not too long ago, broken, bleeding, and hopeless. But because of how you were, where we were brought up, the people that hurt you…" _My reflection suddenly morphed into Kyle. _"…made you stronger. The pain is a curse that you made into a wonderful blessing."_

"_A blessing?" _I said.

"_Yes." _Kyle's image said before morphing into an image of Duncan. _"All the power you have now is a testament of that pain you have endured for so long. And you have friends; you stood your ground against enemies that you felt had a hold over you, and even defeated a sadist that threatened you and your friends." _It shifted into an image of Sabertooth_._

"_I… have friends now." _ I said feeling kind of dazed. Sabertooth's image turned into Scott wearing his Cyclops uniform.

"_You have waged this war of hatred and despair for so long and always felt like you have been alone." _It said before morphing into Jean in her uniform. _"And because of that feeling, it made you stronger, but that was where the flaw was." _Jean's image morphed into Wolverine. _"Nobody should be alone, not ever, because in the end they feel like that is what made them weak."_

"_I thought enduring alone was what made me strong." _ I said. Wolverine's image changed into Storm's image.

"_For a while it has, and it did. And that is what will make you even stronger; the memories of being enduring and strong during that time, and never giving up when you knew you could. And you mustn't change yourself."_ Storm's image changed into Xavier's and he was standing up. _"If you do, the landscape you see around you will be the result of that change, and all that you are now will become stale and weak, and you will regret all that you have lost."_

"_That's why I have a journal to document everything to remember everything about myself." _I said. Xavier's image morphed into me, but I was wearing my X-Men uniform.

"_Words; just words and information that could be just as easily read from any book that most people can't really live to experience, that is what it will be like for you, just words that you will no longer be of any real significance to you and would just hurt you." _

"_I thought the pain made me strong."_ I said.

"_It does now because you learned to endure and that made you better, but if you forget it and relearn about it from simple words in a book, it would not have the meaning it does now and it would hurt you and leave you vindictive towards the people you love for keeping secrets, and you would be weak and alone." _Suddenly the mirror shattered and everyone who I ever knew was standing right in front of me, with me at the front of the crowd.

"_If you get rid all that has happened to you, all the people that made you who you are today, all your friends you have made and will make in the future; that all goes away and you are left with just nothing." _The other me said as his head began to burst into blue flame that spread to everyone else. _"Nothing but the ashes of the truly blessed life you threw away." _ Everyone in front of me that was burning turned into dark black statues, the last one to turn was the other me whose eyes were glowing bright blue. The statues suddenly began to crack more and more with every second until they completely broke apart with a very large explosion. I woke up screaming, shaking, and covered in sweat. I let my legs hang over my bed and held my head in my hands and listened to the words that the mirror said to me, and trying to make sense of its words. It felt like I was in a Harry Potter/Fullmetal Alchemist type of situation, and I have yet to watch those shows again and I sure as hell wasn't thinking of them in the past few days. I heard a knocking on my door and quickly fixed myself up before looking up to see Scott opening the door.

"Hey Ripley, the Professor wants us all in the danger room." He said.

"Okay, I wish my uniform was ready for me though. Although to speak freely, I think this is my new favorite shirt and getting it all sweaty doesn't sound too nice." I said sighing.

"Actually, there's no need for uniforms, or very much sweat. We're just watching some demonstration or something; I don't really know what it's for."

"Oh, okay, uh, that's cool. No uncomfortable sweatiness before bed sounds nice." I said clearing my throat. I was still kind of shaking from my dream which was making me kind of uncomfortable, Scott must have noticed this because he walked over to me with a curious expression on his face.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked.

"Oh… yeah, I'm just kind of worn out from today. I didn't expect to be the one to finally break up Jean and Duncan. Speaking of which, is she okay? I didn't see her after I came home." I said.

"Yeah she's fine, a little sensitive about Duncan, but all in all she's okay." He said.

"That's good. Why don't you go on ahead I'm going to spruce myself up a bit." I said. Scott looked at me with a raised brow.

"Spruce?" He said.

"Yeah I say 'spruce', don't judge me." I said walking to my mirror and sitting down. Scott chuckled under his breath.

"See you in a bit dude." He said as he walked out of my room. I got a brush out of a drawer and was about to brush my hair before stopping and started to just stare at the mirror, and remember what the mirror in my dream said to me.

"_If you get rid all that has happened to you, all the people that made you who you are today; that all goes away and you are left with just nothing." _The thought rang in my head and exited through my lips. I quickly made a few strokes before putting the brush down, closing the drawer, and flew out of my room.

**Elsewhere**

In an old cabin, a local high school was throwing an annual dance. Everyone inside were either dancing hard with the music that was playing or talking with a sweetheart of his or her choosing, everyone that is except for one girl who was leaning out on the patio and staring into the swampy Mississippi waters. Her name is Rogue, and she was thinking why she decided to come to this party in the first place. Behind her she would hear some of the girls talking about her, and some of those things made her wish a terrifying Man-Thing would emerge from the swamp and burn them alive. The moon lit up her pale face as she pushed a strand of her brown and white streaked hair from her face and sighed into the night. Behind her, two high school jockeys emerged from the house, they were talking about how their school football team was going to cream the opposing team next week when the larger one stopped and stared at the goth girl looking outwards towards the swamp.

"Alright Cody, Ah've seen you stare at that girl for weeks now and Ah've had it. Ah know you like her, so why don't you go over and ask her to dance?" His friend said

"No, Ah don't think she'd be interested in me, besides what if she doesn't like meh?" He said.

"What if she does? You won't know unless you ask her, just go!" Cody's friend said shoving him in the girl's direction. Rogue turned around and saw the nervous taller boy walking in her direction before stopping right in front of her.

"Can Ah help you?" She asked.

"Um... A-Ah was wonderin', well..." Cody stammered. Behind him his friend face palmed and streaked his hand down his face.

"Well? Spit it out, what do you want from meh?" Rogue said crossing her arms.

"Dance? Ah mean, would do you wanna...with meh?" He said turning back to his friend who gave him a thumbs up.

"Um... Ah don't know." Rogue said looking back.

"Come on, please? It could be fun, ya know?" He said. Rogue thought his desperation was annoying, but also kind of alluring.

"Well, Ah suppose one dance wouldn't hurt." She said shrugging her shoulders. Cody smiled and pointed his arms inca gentlemanly fashion.

"Ladies first." He said. Rogue gave a small smile and walked towards the cabin past the the taller boy. Cody followed her and his friend gave him a high five in congradulations with a whispered shout "Yeah!" While the party was comensing, a woman sat in her small and cozy house with her cane in hand, pictures of her and her daughter, a girl with brown hair with white streaks, covered small tables and some parts of the walls. She required a cane because she was blind as a bat, but she had a gift that ironically could allow her see into the future. Irene Halder was her name, but her friends reffered to her as Destiny. One moment she was sitting comfortably on her small couch when she bolted up with a start.

"No! Don't touch him!" She cried as visions flooded her sightless eyes. Her daughter, the girl who called herself Rogue, was in danger, or rather will be. She was on the floor looking terrified and confused. "Oh my poor child!" Meanwhile at the school party Rogue was dancing with Cody, or at leasttrying to because the place was packed to the brim and it was hard to move without nearly trippingon a foot or getting shoved by a stray elbow. Suddenly she found herself trip on something, or someone, and tore her fishnet long-sleeved shirt at the wrist. Cody called out to the people to make room for other people and reached down to her to help her up when he grabbed her by her bare wrist. All at once Cody felt himself getting weak and dizzy, while Rogue felt new energies enter her body and images flooded her brain all at once

**End of Chapter Twenty**

**A/N: I am so sorry everyone for the delay, tons of stuff came up and I came down with a terrible case of writers block. I'll try my best to get new chapters in as soon as I can, and make a few of them longer. Thanks for the favorites and reviews everyone, more of them will make me and Ripley very happy. Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	21. Chapter 21

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutant kind**

**Chapter 21: The Ripple meets the Rogue**

At a poorly guarded warehouse, a man in a black outfit that covered him from head to toe, save his eyes, crawled through its ventilation system. "Impressive." A voice rang out. "You managed to slip past the security grid." The man opened up an air vent and jumped to the floor below. "However, you won't have such an easy time with me." A woman with white hair, blue eyes, and a black suit with a flowing clock appeared and flung a bolt of lightning at her assailant. He dodged the lightning and went back into the air vents. "Testing me, hmm? Very well, it's time I remind you why they call me Storm!" She said as a cloud appeared over her head, while outside storm clouds were concntrating and rain began to pour from them in a whirlpool like fashion through a chimney. Inside the vents, the man heard a loud noise like rushing water and turned around to see a torrent racing towards him. He tried crawling fast, but the water was faster and it pushed him a lengths away and into a large chrome room full of heavy looking machines.

"You look a little flushed." Storm said over a speaker from a control room above the room. "And your forecast isn't good." The assailant lunged forward, but was swept away by a cold breeze that froze him to the wall. He struggled, but managed to escape the ice.

"Now that was cold." He said.

"Well then, let's warm you up." Storm said pushing a button. A large laser gun came out of a wall and began to blast at the ninja man. With a mighty lunge, adamantium claws emerged from the back of the man's hands and sliced at the weapon, causing it to explode and send him flying, and also seering most of his outfit.

"You gotta connect first, any more party tricks?" He shouted. Suddenly a large cylinder with a cavalcade of different things appeared and a rotating metal wall began blasting at the man. He jumped and dodged everything that was trying to hit him and sliced away at the wall before delivering a couple more to the center.

"Stop." A male voice rang out before the machines stopped. " That is quite enough, it is for the moment all we can afford Wolverine." The man removed his mask and revealed a big chinned man with a distinctive haircut.

"Hey when I give a demo, I give a demo." He said smiling.

"As in demonstration or demolish?" A young man with red shades said over the speakers.

"Whatever it was, it was hot." A black haired boy said. All the people who gathered in the control room looked at him with curious looks. "I meant his actions, well umm... the actions he was doing while doing the... thing, for God's sake someone please stop me."

"Okay, stop it." A blue fuzzy elf boy said while hanging upside down and eating popcorn. Everyone younger than Storm in the room laughed. The black haired boy frowned, but then started to giggle to himself.

"Thank you Kurt." He said.

"Happy to help Ripley." Kurt said winking at him.

**(Ripley's P.O.V)**

After Logan was through with the infiltration simulation, and my awkward comment that was taken way out of context, Scott spoke up. "That was impressive and all, but what was the point?" He said.

"This simulation was meant to show you how to bypass and deactivate highly active security systems." Storm said. I raised up my hand with a question behind it."Ripley?"

"Yeah, when exactly would we need to break into warehouses and 'bypass highly active security systems'? Are we planning on taking a shipment of some advanced equipment or something?" I said.

"No, but these exercises teach you to be open minded to every possible outcome in a battle." Storm said.

"Yep." Logan said coming off the elevator. "So I hope you watched very carefully Rip." I gave a little smile, apparently my nickname had been spread to everyone else and almost everyone referred to me as Rip sometimes.

"Man, zhat vas tight. Thumbs up." Kurt said giving Logan two thumbs up, upside down. Jean and I snickered at Kurt as Logan went to the computer moniters that recorded his progress on the simulation.

"I feel like that vent was too easy to get through, maybe we should install a tripwire or maybe poison gas."Logan said. I looked at the monitors and saw the lasers and buzz saws went through in the ventilation system and cringed.

_"What, nearly cut in many places in more than one way with more than one method wasn't enough?" _I thought.

"Logan." Storm said sternly.

"Fine, knockout gas then." He grunted. I didn't see it, but Kitty was trembling in her chair.

"Oooh." She shivered. "Is it just me, or is anybody else, like, totally freaked out by all this?" Everyone just stared at her, except me because I find staring to be kind of rude, and Kurt ate a small handful of his popcorn. "Oh it's just me? Great." She leaned back in her chair with her arms crosssed. I stood up and walked to her.

"Trust me Kitty, I'm sure all of us felt the same way you did and it's okay to be a little nervous at first, but eventually this becomes natural to you and you adapt, even to the most crazy things." I said looking at Logan.

"Yah." Kurt said before teleporting and appearing right next to Kitty and I. "And the fuzzy man and his friends will be glad to help you adjust." He teleported and appeared on the opposite side laying down on the table and supporting his bowl of popcorn with his tail, which was aimed towards Kitty. "Popcorn?"

"Umm..." She said standing up. "If it's alright with everyone, I think I'm just going to just, like, turn in." She said as she phased through the floor, leaving Kurt with a down look on his face.

"She clearly doesn't dig zhe fuzzy man, not zhat I blame her." He said.

"It's okay Kurt, just give her time. She'll come around." Scott said.

"Yah, maybe." Kurt said. I put an arm around Kurt's shoulder.

"There's no 'maybe' Kurt. I've been around you for a while and even before moving in I found your fuzz to be adorable, and if I can then everyone else should be able to as well." I said. Kurt looked at everyone who smiled at him before he smiled at me brightly.

"You're right, thanks Ripley." He said.

"X-Men." Xavier's voice rang out as he rolled in the room from the elevator. "Cerebro has detected a new mutant, and for this one we need to bring the whole team."

"Why everyone?" Scott asked.

"Her powers seem to have brought two sets of minds into her mind and she is confused, terrified, and on the run. I fear that if we don't get to her quickly she will hurt herself and others. X-Men, we have a rogue on our hands." Xavier said. How Xavier mentioned this new mutant reminded me of the dream I had earlier, and it's hidden message I couldn't quite explain or understand. ***(See last chapter for details. -Mcc)**

"Understood, alright guys let's suit up." Scott said. "We move out in five." One by one everyone in the room went into the elevator except me, I was still lost in my own thoughts.

"Hey Rip, ya got lead in your feet or what? Let's move!" Logan said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, it's just that I would happiliy oblige if I had a suit to suit up with, but if I remember correctly I burned and shredded it, well Sabertooth did minus the burning part." I said.

"Don't worry Ripley, we fixed a little something to your likeness. You should be able to find it on your way out of the elevator to your right." Xavier said.

"Really? Cool, thanks." I said walking into the elevator.

"Oh and Ripley." Xavier said."Be sure to find Kitty and lead her down to the winger with you."

"Yes sir!" I said playfully saluting before the door closed. After a few seconds the elevator doors opened and there was a brown package with my name on it.

_"Hmm, an inconspicuous box with my name on it, how nice."_ I thought grabbing the package and teleporting to my room. I opened the box and there was a little envelope with a wax seal with an "X". I opened the envelope and inside was a letter to me.

_"Ripley, we greatly underestimated your power and the integrity of your original uniform, so we present to you a more fortified uniform that should be able to withstand almost any kind of damage to it. Plus we caught on to your sense of style and modified it more to your liking to make you more comfortable and ready for unforseen events. May this uniform prove to be a symbol of who you are and where you stand from now on. - Professor Charles Xavier _

I put the letter down and looked at the new copy of my original uniform inside, and it seemed different from the original somehow. I took it out and noticed the giant red "X" was darker and then I looked into the box to see a long black cloak that looked exactly as the one I made, but it seemed more well done and seemed to be made with silk and smoked satin because touching was just so...

"Mmm." I said. Without any words or any other deeds I slipped on the new uniform and looked at myself in the mirror. My middle and ring fingers stuck out of a strip of fabric that gloved them and allowed my other fingers to come out of two gaping hokes in the sides that were just big enough to let them through. The pants had thin red stripes going from the black belt and went down my thighs to the middle of my boots and ended at where my boots' top lining was. My cloak shrouded my shoulders and my arms and went down until it touched the floor. If anything else, I looked rather elegant. "If looks could kill, I'd be dead, undead, and then dead again." I said as I teleported out of my room. I walked down the hall and found Kitty pulling the little shoes from her uniform on.

"Hey Kitty, I was coming to come and get you." I said.

"Yeah the Professor told me to put my uniform on, in my mind which, like, totally freaked me out by the way. He told me you were coming to escort me to the winger, whatever that is." She said.

"It's a winger, you know for jets and helicopters, that sort of thing?" I said. Kitty's eyes went wide.

"This place has jets and helicopters? Shut up!" She said.

"I'm serious, it's totally crazy. There's like two helicopters and a jet." I said waving a hand around. "It's crazy, right?"

"Yeah!" Kitty said loudly. We both walked out of her room while we continued to converse.

"But something I'm still wondering about is where he gets some of this stuff." I said.

"Maybe he dumpster dives sometimes?" Kitty said. I raised a brow at her.

"Xavier?"

"Yeah."

"A crippled older man with mind reading powers?"

"Yeah, don't crippled people get more upper body strength?"

"Okay, no and seriously, dumpster diving for jets and helicopters? Where would there be a dumpster for jets and helicopters?"

"No you dork, for parts to make the jets and stuff."

I got a derpy look on my face which made Kitty laugh as we descended down in the elevator.

"Well, I suppose that's a plausible theory at least, but where would you go to find dumpsters for parts for air vehicles?"

"Can't you make stuff from, like, anything?"

"Not exactly."

"But what if you have a lot of it?"

"A lot of what exactly?"

"You know, like, stuff."

"I don't know what 'stuff' means, what stuff are you referring to? How did we even begin to talk about this?"

"I don't know!" We both burst out into laughter and we found ourselves in the hanger. Kitty and I widened our eyes at how big the hanger was.

"Oh..."

"My..."

"God." We both said in tandem.

"I have heard about the hanger a couple of times, but I never knew it was the size of Alaska." I said.

"Why Alaska?" Kitty asked with a raised brow.

"Why not?"

"Hmm, touchè."

I looked out and saw the jet, and Wolverine waiting outside for us. I led Kitty to the jet and Wolverine greeted us with a low grunt. "Hmm, not bad Rip, you're just a bit late." He said.

"Sorry we're late, I got stuck in the maze." I said. Wolverine sniffed at me.

"Alright smart guy, let's move." He said leading us into the jet.

"I'm serious, and there was a moat with tons of alligators trying to eat me, I would be dead if Kitty hadn't saved my life." I said. Wolverine gave an irritated growl and unsheathed the claws from his left hand. "I'm gonna shut up now, okay?" Wolverine sheathed his claws back into his hand.

"Now move!" The three of us walked into the jet and I took a couple seconds to look around the interior of the jet.

"Cool, leather seats." I said as Kitty, Wolverine, and I took our seats in individual chairs.

"Good, everyone is here now. Whenever you're ready Nightcrawler." Xavier said. I looked at the cockpit and my eyes widened in terror. Nightcrawler was behind the stick and he was starting the jet to get ready to fly it. Jean looked back at me and noticed I was quivering.

"Don't worry Ripley."Jean said."Kurt has been taking lessons with Scott, and even as he is he knows to be focused and serious when he really has to." I sighed a bit and prepared for take off. "By the way, I like the uniform."

"Thanks Jeanie, but you should feel the cloak, it feels great when you touch it." I said as the jet started, which excited my body and made me quiver.

"Whoo!" I said loudly. Everyone looked at me with a raised brow. "Sorry, p-shivers." I said with an awkward grin. Everybody turned back around, except Wolverine who gave me a kind of piercing glare like I was guilty of murder. I turned away and tried to look out a window, only problem was there wasn't a window to be seen.

**Elsewhere**

A young boy was running back home, his dad's car was gone and he remembered that it was date night tonight. He tried to search for his keys in his pocket, but stopped when he remembered the extra key above the front door. He reached into the gutter space and felt around until he found the key and unlocked the door and went inside. Once inside he went straight to his room and marveled at the trophies and awards for his physical feats and achievements thanks to them. He then pulled out a family album and inside were pictures of man, a woman, and himself. His mother, father, and what he thought was him, but it wasn't. He was actually a southern teenage goth girl named Rogue who accidentally stole the boys' memories and his physical stamina.

"All these memories, mah parents, mah life. It's all mahne, but it isn't. Ah don't..." She said making her way to a mirror that had trophies piled on the dresser the mirror was standing on. She shoved all of them off the dresser before gazing into the mirror again. "Who the hell am Ah?"

While the poor confused girl was sorting through her memories, her mother, a blind woman named Irene was dialing up a number she hasn't used in a while.

"It happened, she's now aware of her abilities, and she's loose on the streets. Well what was I supposed to do? She's a teenaged girl! We fabricated the perfect story, the clothes, the fake skin condition, and she seemed perfectly content with it. " She kept quiet as the person on the opposite end talked. "Yes, of course you're coming, but Xavier's team will be here as well."

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

We were flying swiftly and smoothly on our way to Louisiana to meet this new mutant, and like a few of the others I felt strangely eager to find out what she could do, and what she was like. On the way, Kitty and I were admiring the work done on my new uniform and how silky smooth my cloak is. Xavier explained that she was a goth girl, which told me she shared one of my tastes in music because I'm kind of goth, so she was probably somebody I could get along with. In the cockpit, Cyclops was giving some helpful tips to Nightcrawler to keep him in mint flying condition.

"Alright, keep it steady, and...right there." Cyclops said. "Good job Kurt, we'll make a certified pilot out of you yet."

"Thanks." Nightcrawler said leaning back in his seat and taking the stick with his feet making Cyclops look uneasy.

"Or maybe not." He said looking out at the front. "I cleared our fly pattern with the FAA, we should be able to land in Jackson, and from there we can head out with the X-Van."

"Good, you're picking up logistics quite well Scott." In the back where everyone else was, I couldn't help but admire Cyclops' smarts and nearly permanent poker face, it actually looked kind of cute. I didn't notice that Kitty was doing the same. She leaned forward to Jean.

"Scott seems so, like, together, ya know? And he's kinda cute." She said.

"Mm-hm." I said in agreement. Kitty looked at me with a surprised look.

"Cute? Well, a stiff maybe, but overall, hmm...at a certain angle maybe." She said with a inquisitive expression. Nightcrawler looked back at us and frowned before turning back to face the front before abruptly teleporting out of his seat, catching us all off guard. He appeared on the middle if the jet's nose with a goofy smile.

"What the hell is he doing?" Wolverine said.

"Oh god, please tell me this thing has autopilot." I said. Nightcrawler did a little dance before I saw him lose his footing and trip. "WHOA!" I said teleporting outside and catching Kurt as he fell towards the window, propelling us both towards it. Before we hit it, Nightcrawler teleported us back into the plane and I crashed on the floor, knocking the air out of me, and he landed on Kitty, causing her to yelp. "Oww." I said. "My spleen."

"Kurt, you know better than to play around in the jet. You frightened Kitty and hurt Ripley." Xavier said. Nightcrawler looked at Kitty with an apologetic look.

"Heh... sorry Kitty." He said before looking at me. "Sorry Ripley." I held up a strained thumb.

"No worries." I said weakly. "I'm just going to lay here and try to get my air back and pretend my back doesn't feel like it's broken."

"You know what? Just, like, stay away from me!" Kitty said, undoing her seat belt and walking to my seat. Above my head, I heard Wolverine scoff.

"Kids." He said under his breath and crossing his arms.

"Ugh, tell me something I don't know." I said looking up at him. He gave a little smirk and a sniff before looking back up. I got back up, or at least tried to, and fell down on my face. Everyone near the back looked back at me "Ow."

**Elsewhere**

A small airplane arrived at a Louisiana airport and a single passenger stepped off, a limo waiting for her. To most, she was a respected school official named Raven Darkholme, but to others she was known as the twisted mutant Mystique. Inside the limo, her dear friend and companion Irene was waiting.

"You took your time in your flight Raven." Irene said.

"Our annonomous benefactor's company has a few certain perks to his plans." Mystique said shifting back into her normal blue skinned and deep red haired form. "What happened? I thought I left the girl in what I thought was your safe keeping."

"I saw how her powers would emerge, I couldn't see when. "Irene said. "But yes I did take... steps. She was at a dance and she accidentally came in contact with a local boy."

"Absorbing his memories and physical abilities, wonderful. We keep her locked away from the world for the better part of five years and in five minutes it all falls apart. We cannot lose her she has great potential for limitless power and we cannot lose her, especially to Xavier. You can see the future Irene, where would she be now?" Mystique asked.

"Home, or where she thinks is home." Irene answered. After a few minutes of driving, the black limo drove and parked in front of the house that was the home of the boy Cody, who was in a sense inside.

"Raven, please be careful, after all she is your..." Irene said.

"I know Irene, and don't worry. She will come to us." Mystique said shifting into a familiar orange and black costumed feral mutant. "Given the right incentive."

Inside the house, Rogue was still looking through Cody's family albums when she heard a knocking at the door. She closed the album and walked to the door and was about to open it when three sharp claws tore through it, causing her to scream. The claws made short work of the door before a man in an orange and black jumpsuit with a scary face jumped through the ruined door.

"Who are you, what do you want?" Rogue asked in a panicked tone.

"I want you girlie, I want you!" He shouted as he lunged at her with a snarl. Rogue dodged the man and turned to face him, grabbing a chunk of door from the floor. "Stand still and I'll make it quick. You're dealing with the X-Men now, and you ain't got a chance."

"X-Men? I don't know what's going on, but leave me alone!" She cried as she hit the man with the wooden plank and running away, behind her she heard the man give a chilling howl and rapid footsteps behind her which made her run faster until she ran out to the backyard. Suddenly a shadow moved over her and a young man with a long cloak, black hair, and glowing white eyes appeared.

"Trying to escape from the X-Men gorgeous? Not going to happen." He said tossing some kind of mini bomb at her. She ran off in another direction and was quickly out of sight. The young man smiled slyly as he shifted into a blue skinned woman with red hair.

"One more turn of the screw and you will come running into my arms ." She said shifting to a woman with white hair and blue eyes.

**Meanwhile (Ripley's P.O.V.)**

After landing in a discrete looking area that didn't seem to have much human contact whatsoever, Cyclops (who took over as pilot after Nightcrawler's little stunt) flipped a switch and everyone took off their seat belts and we all stepped outside. Once outside, I noticed that the X-Jet had turned invisible on outside. Wolverine drove out of the back of the jet in the X-Van.

"Okay, that is just awesome." I said. Cyclops was the last to come out, along with Xavier and saw that I was intrigued by the cloaked X-Jet.

"Yeah, pretty cool isn't it? A whole bunch of mirrors on the outside reflect and refract images that make the jet seem invisible." Cyclops said.

"Yeah, very nice." I said stepping on the ground and looking back at the jet that was now completely invisible to the naked eye.

_"Hmm, how Wonder Woman of Xavier to have a sometimes invisible jet." _I thought. Speaking of whom, Xavier had his fingers to his temples and was most likely scanning around the area before he opened his eyes.

"Wolverine, you take Ripley, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat with you to scout the area where she was seen last. Everyone else, we have to make a stop at the local hospital." Xavier said.

"Why a hospital?" Cyclops asked.

"There may be someone there who can help us figure out where she is." He said.

"Alright people, let's move." Wolverine said, with his designated team of three, including myself, following him while the others got into the X-Van and drove away.

**Later**

After a while of searching around alleys and stuff, my feet were beginning to hurt and I had to start levitating to move around, and by the looks given by Nightcrawler and Shadowcat they weren't enjoying this either.

"So does this bite, or what?" Kitty said to me.

"It does, right in the ass." I said.

"The Prof said that the girl's mind is confused and hard to pinpoint, so keep lookin' and quit belly achin'." Wolverine said opening a large trashcan.

"Wait, if her mind is hard to pinpoint, shouldn't that make it easy to find her?" I asked. Wolverine closed the lid and looked at me.

"I'm not following." He said.

"If he searched and scanned around the area and found a disturbance in one mind and finds it to be in shambles he should be able to..." I said before I felt something strong come over me, like I was suddenly scared, really scared.

"Ripley, vat's wrong?" Nightcrawler asked.

"I don't know, I just felt something come over me." I said holding my head. Wolverine suddenly began to sniff really loud.

"Vas, got a scent?" Nightcrawler asked.

"Yeah, I smell fear." Wolverine said.

"Are you sure it's not from me? Because I'm kind of freaking out now." I said.

"No, this is new, we're close. Let's go!" He said running off in one direction, with all of us following close behind him.

**Meanwhile**

In a large backyard, Rogue was now being chased by a woman with white hair and like the men, she was seemingly trying to hurt or even kill her.

"One conveniently placed lightning bolt." She said pulling out a small bomb and throwing it at Rogue. "One ex-mutant." Rogue managed to climb a large fence before the "lightning bolt" struck near her, knocking her to the ground. She looked up to see a blind woman with a cane, and she felt like she knew her somehow.

"Rogue, it's me, Irene. Try and remember." She said.

"Irene? Ah'm so confused, strange thoughts in mah head." She stammered as she flashed back to the people who attacked her. "People chasing meh."

"Easy honey, easy. The police are coming, and the X-Men will not risk a confrontation." She said offering her hand. Rogue looked up at her adopted mother in confusion.

"The X-Men?" She said.

"Mutant hunters, now hurry. I have a friend who can help you, come with me and I can take you to her." She said as Rogue took her hand.

"Ah don't know, all this is happening too fast. Ah don't..." She said before she saw the men who attacked her, and two others she didn't recognize. "It's them, the men who attacked meh! Run Irene, run!" She ran hastily away, accidently shedding off her glove in Irene's hand. Irene could only stand as the X-Men ran passed her.

"That's gotta be her." One said.

**Ripley's P.O.V.**

Once I saw the girl we came to find, she looked at me and she was instantly terrified of me, and Wolverine. And while Logan might be kind of scary, I didn't know why she was scared of me. As we chased after her, I caught a glimpse of the blind woman she was with. I quickly let the thought slip away and regained my focus on the task at hand. Wolverine and I were close to the girl when she climbed up and over a fence.

"Please don't hurt meh, just stay away!" She shouted. Nightcrawler suddenly teleported in front of us.

"Wolverine, Ripley wait!" He said holding out his hands. "She seems to be terrified of you guys, let me try." Wolverine gave an reluctant sigh.

"Alright kid, but don't mess up, capeshe?" Wolverine said.

"Yes sir!" Nightcrawler said saluting before walking away.

"Ripley and I'll find the Prof, and squirt?" He said making Kurt turn around. "Put on your best face, no sense scarin' the poor kid anymore then she already is." Nightcrawler gave him a thumbs up and used his holowatch to change into his casual form before running after the girl with Shadowcat behind him. "And keep an eye on the half pint wouldya?"

"Hey!" She said with her hands on her hips. I giggled at Kitty's reaction as she turned back around and ran after Kurt. I then offered a hand to Wolverine.

"Hey, you want a ride? I'd rather get to Xavier sooner if not later, and I doubt that later is a luxury we can afford now." I said. Wolverine refused at first, but then took my hand.

"Alright, but no tricks." He said as he put an arm over my shoulders and I grabbed at his waist.

"Who said anything about tricks? Besides, you're my first passenger, I'm not going to fuck up anything with you." I said. Wolverine tightly clutched my shoulder making me wince. "Oww, hey!"

"Watch the language, bub." He said.

"Okay, but damn." I said. He squeezed my shoulder again. "Aaahh, okay, okay." I felt myself float and Wolverine actually followed nicely, and although he was a little shorter than me, he felt kind of heavy.

"Alright, where to?" I said.

"The Prof said he and the others were at the hospital, but they're probably moved on by now." He said.

"Alright, so how do we find them?" I asked.

"My nose will tell us the way, now let's move." He said.

"Right, follow the snout, cause it's never in doubt...HAH! I'm funny." I said laughing. Wolverine glared at me in annoyance. "What? I am." I began to slowly move in one direction and steadily increase my speed until I got to a nice pace. After a couple minutes we flew over Jackson and they were really silent and it was weirding me out, mostly because an older guy was hanging onto me over a really high altitude. During this time I was thinking about the weird feeling I got from the girl and the way her mind was at the moment, which made me flash to my dream. I wondered that if I got my mind erased in some places, and even if I read about them in a journal, diary, or any book, they wouldn't really mean much to me, not my mother, not Carl, and maybe not even Kyle. It made me wonder if I would be any better off then how the rogue is now. Wolverine looked at me and noticed my face.

"Hey Rip, what's wrong?" Wolverine asked.

"Hmm? Oh nothing, I'm just... thinking." I said.

"It's about the girl, huh?" He said.

"Huh? Well, I guess a little, but I..." I stopped talking as I saw the smug expression on Logan's face.

"I'm into guys, you know." I said.

"I know, but you said you were..." He said with a smirk.

"Not...that...way." I said. "It's just...I felt how she was feeling, in that alley when I was acting weird. I felt all her confusion, her terror, all of it just pouring into me like a flask. I can't..." I stopped talking for a moment and sighed.

"Ya can't what?" Wolverine said.

"...imagine being like that, living like that. All the bad stuff that I went through in my life, and even the good things, all mashed up and scattered across the winds, and unable to pick up the pieces, and not being able to tell which was the right piece of another, it sounds awful." I said.

"She only discovered her powers today, not her whole life ago." He grunted.

"I know, I'm just saying to live a life like that would be horrible, or the rest of a life. Not knowing yourself, and not knowing what was done to you and by you, I can't even think to know about what that's like."

"I do." Wolverine said.

"You do what?" I asked.

"Know what that's like, I live it every day."

"How?"

"In the past I had mine taken from me, I can't remember anything past getting my claws."

"My god, that sounds terrible, can you still not remember anything beyond the claws?"

"Yeah, but the Prof helped me sort through most of my memories, some of them aren't pretty, but at least I know who I am, or was I guess. I don't know if I'll get the full truth of my past or not one day, but for now the best I can do is to live for the days in front of me and ahead of me." I looked at the older man and I couldn't believe this side of him, so understanding and tender and soft, but tough as nails. I quickly let our conversation slide as we looked down to see the others walking down a street, Xavier was holding his temples most likely trying to locate the Rogue.

"Her mind is difficult to track, her mind is in such shambles I cannot be sure where she is." Xavier said.

"Good thing we found her then." Wolverine said above the rest of the group as we flew in. "She's not too far away, she's a few blocks west from here, half pint and the elf are in pursuit."

"Why didn't you go with them?" Xavier asked.

"She freaked out and ran when she saw us, but strangely she seemed more frightened by the both of us more than Nightcrawler or Cat." I said.

"Hmm, strange. Perhaps we could... Ah!" Xavier shouted in pain.

"Professor? What's wrong?" Cyclops asked in worry.

"Kitty, please a little quieter, concentrate." He said. In my mind, I could kind of hear what was being said in Xavier's head, and one voice sounded scared and worried, and I knew that voice to be Kitty's.

_"It's Kurt, she hurt him, or she did something to him. He's, like, completely knocked out, I need help." _Kitty's voice rang out. I widened my eyes and clenched my fists.

"It's Kurt, the rogue has absorbed his memories and his powers, but he's unconscious and not responding." Xavier said. Wolverine grunted as he clenched his fists which made his claws emerge from his hands.

"It's all my fault, I knew I shouldn't have let the elf be in charge!" He said stabbing a nearby fence post.

"Since she now has Nightcrawler's mind and powers, I should be able to track her movements more easily." Xavier said holding his temples. "There, she isn't far, but she might move again so we must be swift."

"Alright X-Men, let's move out." Cyclops said running off with everyone else following behind him, except Wolverine who looked kind of down on himself for what happened to Kurt. Storm turned around, but I motioned her to keep moving. She nodded I hesitated, but I grabbed his shoulder and he turned to face me.

"Hey, chin up. Things could have been worse, she might have touched me and we would have two powerhouses tearing up the place." I said with a little smile. Wolverine brushed my hand off and walked off. "It wasn't your fault Logan, these things just happen, and we can't ever see them coming. It could've been you, me, or even Kitty. Nightcrawler may be knocked out, but he's alive, so why don't we go and track the rogue down so we can help her and be sure she doesn't accidentally hurt someone?" I said holding out my hand. Logan turned around and saw my hand extended out to him. He sniffed once and walked in my direction and when he was in front of me, I smiled a bit as he took my hand. "And one more thing to wrap it up, lighten up a bit, as a favor to me. It'll do you some good."

"Fine, but you better too Rip." I opened my mouth to say something, but he held up a hand which silenced me. "And don't try and deny that you need to, because I can pick up a mask any day and I can literally smell tension. If you let it build for too long, it can hurt ya. Lighten up a bit, as a favor to me." I raised a brow of his mimicry of my own words and I felt my heart soften to his words.

"I should teleport you to where Kitty is." I said clearing my throat. "I have a psychic impression from Xavier on where Kitty is, and where she's at you'll find Kurt. They need an adult with them and while everyone else is going after the rogue, you're a prime candidate. "

"Okay, but what are you gonna do?" He said.

"I'm going to go ahead of the others to track the rogue down and try and keep her from hurting anyone else." I said concentrating on Wolverine. "Good luck, you're the first person I teleported besides myself."

"You sure you know what you're doing Rip?"

"Nope." I smiled nervously as I felt my teleportation powers in effect. In the blink of an eye Wolverine was gone, while also screaming my name in anger. I gathered my own thoughts and teleported away to find the rogue.

**Elsewhere**

Rogue suddenly found herself in a large cemetery, where she sometimes hung out on some nights.

"How did Ah get here? ^I was here and then...^" She said. Her eyes widened after she suddenly spoke German. "Ah can speak German? How can Ah speak German?" She looked around at her surroundings and teleported to another part of the cemetery. She kept this going, disappearing and reappearing in various spots and places, gaining better control over them as each time, and for the first time that night, she felt alive and free before she teleported once more before tripping and falling on the ground. She held her face in her hands and cried silently.

"Why is this happenin' to meh?" She said

In the shadows, Mystique lay in wait, looking for a perfect opportunity to strike. She was about to make her move when the red head of the X-Men, Jean Grey, appeared and walked up to the sobbing girl.

"Hi." She said in a friendly tone. Rogue looked up to see the young and beautiful red head looking at her with a friendly smile.

"Do Ah know you? Ah'm so confused, Ah don't know." Rogue said.

"It's alright, just calm down and focus on me." Jean said.

"Ah... Ah do know you. You're Jean Grey, you're one of the X-Men, like the ones who attacked meh, get away!" Rogue said.

"Wait! If you know who I am, then you know that I won't hurt you, I just want to talk. Look, things are kind of tough now, but if you want to talk." She said hokding up an X-Men communicator. "You can contact me any time with this." She closed her eyes and the communicator floated in the air and with a gesture of her hand, the device floated to the young goth girl. She begrudgingly took the device and stared at it in her hand as the other X-Men arrived. "The X-Men are always here to help you when you need us."

"That's right." Storm said. Rogue's eyes widened in horror when she heard Storm's voice.

"You! You won't take meh." She said running off leaving Jean and everyone else bewildered.

"I don't understand, I thought we were connecting and then..." She said.

"...she saw me, for some reason she's terrified of me." Storm finished.

Behind a large gravestone, Mystique smiled slyly and she began to plan. Elsewhere, Rogue stumbled into a monastery and she hid behind the stone coffin inside. From the skylight, a young man with a red visor jumped in, startling her.

"You think you can run from us? Try and escape? Think again." He said menacingly. Rogue ran out of the monastery and saw the second man who threatened her first appear. Rogue turned back around and turned and saw the red head.

"I tried to help, I really did, but I guess some people just won't be helped." She said holding up her hand as if readying for a telekinetic strike. Rogue quickly teleported away and found herself outside a different monastery where the young black haired man suddenly appeared.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

After the rogue appeared in front of me in a poof of brimstone, I tried to reach to her to help her off the ground, but she retracted and crawled away from me in fear.

"Hey, don't be scared. I promise I'm not going to hurt you, concentrate on the blue boy's memories. Remember who I am." I said. I was talking, my mouth was open and words were coming out, but the poor girl looked too glassy eyed with fear and confusion and she ran off and tripped on her shoe. Jean ran up to her.

"Are you okay? Don't try to move, lie still." She said kneeling down. Rogue backed away from her, and from behind Storm appeared.

"Please child, tell us what's wrong." Storm said. Rogue reached out to her with her uncovered hand. My eyes widened, because I knew what was about to happen.

"Storm, stay back!" I shouted, but it was too late. The rogue's had already grabbed a hold of Storm, bolts of electricity shooting through her fingers. After a few seconds, the rogue let go of Storm and she propelled into a small hole unconscious. "Oh god." Cyclops arrived and ran up to Jean.

"Hey, what's with the light show? Did we...?" He said as he saw the winds pick up and the rogue begin to levitate. "Oh no...no!" The girl spread her arms wide as lightning began to strike and flash and the winds began to rage. I saw that some of the lightning was striking at Scott and Jean, and she was holding up a telekinetic shield that was keeping the storm from hurting them, but it looked like she couldn't hold it for long. I flew over to them and threw up another shield similar to Jean's to reinforce hers.

"We can't keep this up forever Scott." Jean said.

"Give it up, she has Storm's powers, but not her control." Cyclops said as the winds began to tear apart the cemetery and knocked down a few power lines as torrents of rain filled every empty space in the area, including the hole where Storm was, that was filling with water quickly and about to rise up to the the knocked down power lines.

"If those power lines hit that water Storm will be fried!" Cyclops said quickly jumping into the water. He swam over to Storm and grabbed her, putting her over his shoukder. Jean floated up and I followed suit. Jean then lifted Cyclops and Storm out of the water as the it touched the power lines. We all floated above the ground as the monsoon from hell raged on.

"I can't hold us up here for long. You're both too heavy." She said. I looked up at the rogue and narrowed my eyes at her.

_"I will not lose anyone today, not now or ever again."_ I thought as I flew up to the raging girl.

"Get away from meh!" She shouted as she threw a bolt of lightning at me. I dodged it and floated closer to her.

"Listen to me, you have to calm down, I'm not going to hurt you, please you have to trust me." I shouted over the wind.

"Ah can't, it's too much power, someone help meh!" She shouted closing her eyes.

"Look at me." I said. "You know me, you know the X-Men, you have the memories to prove it. Concentrate on them." She looked at me and closed her eyes. I didn't have much time, the monsoon was still going and the ground was covered with electricly charged water and Jean was about to lose her grip on Cyclops and Storm. "Listen to me, you have other powers in you, use them and save yourself, please I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt." I said. She looked back at me, her eyes peircing mine and filling me with her fears and grief. "Please." She closed her eyes and I felt some small sense peace from her before she teleported away. I let out a huge sigh of relief as the storm began to quickly dissipate, but I also felt a great sense of disappointment for losing her. I floated down to the ground with Jean and Cyclops, who was carrying Storm in his arms.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's just unconscious, she should be awake in a bit." Cyclops said.

"Excellent work my X-Men." A voice said. We all looked in the voice's direction and saw Xavier and Wolverine, who was holding Nightcrawler with Kitty right behind them.

"Where did she go?" Cyclops said.

"Her mind is too fractured and wherever she is, I can't tell." Xavier said. "She"s gone."

"It's my fault she's gone, she was scared and I told her to go before anyone got hurt. I'm sorry guys." I said holding my arm and looking down.

"Ripley, you did the right thing." Cyclops said putting an arm over me. "If it wasn't for you, who knows what would have happened to us, you saved us." I blushed at Scott's compliment as Nightcrawler woke up.

"Ugh, vhere am I?" He said groggily. Kitty rushed up to Kurt and hugged him tight.

"Oh Kurt! Thank god you're okay, you really scared me you fuzzy elf." She said hugging him again. Kurt looked at Scott and I and I mouthed to him "Told you so!".

"I'm sensing a lot of confusion, and another being at work here." Xavier said. Wolverine sniffed at the air loudly.

"Mystique, she can change her form, but not her scent." He said.

"Who's Mystique?" I asked.

"She's a mutant shape-shifter who can make herself appear to be anyone, or almost anything." Xavier said.

"So the way Rogue was acting towards a few of us, that was because of Mystique?" I said clenching a fist.

_"How dare she?! How dare she use my face to scare someone else, I scared and hurt enough people already. How could she do that?" _I thought.

"What do we do now? Should we go after her?" Cyclops asked.

"No, she must come of her own will, and after tonight she may take some time to accept us. And for her sake I hope it's soon." Xavier said. We all made our way to the X-Van and before I went in, Wolverine pulled me aside.

"Ripley, the next time you teleport me without practicing on other objects first or unless I tell you, I'll work your ass in the danger room so hard you'll have to start walking with your hands." He said gritting his teeth at me. "Got it?"

"Yes sir." I said in a nearly choked whisper. He let me go and I entered the van.

_"That was scary, but also kind of...EW! Ripley don't you say it was hot! Dammit I just did, fuck!" _I thought.

**Later**

In the X-Jet, I sat trying to forget my almost fantasy about Logan, but also thinking about Rogue. I picked up her name through her jumbled thoughts and terror, ironically that's what we referred to her as we tracked her down. I thought about how scared she was because nothing felt right in her own mind, she forgot who she was and who her family was, and when she did nothing felt right in her mind, like it wasn't her still. I thought about Xavier's deal and after all the turmoil and all the strange dreams I have been having I came to a conclusion. I got up from my seat and walked up to the front seat where Xavier was sitting.

"Professor?" I said. Xavier looked up at me.

"Yes Ripley?" He said.

"I have thought about your offer, and...I have made my decision. It's sweet of you to offer to wipe my mind, but..."

"You don't want me to wipe your mind." He finished. I looked at him with a curious expression.

"How did you..." I said before Xavier flashed a smile at me. "Oh... right."

"You did a great job Ripley." Xavier said.

"With...what exactly?" I asked.

"You passed your test."

"Forgive me if i still don't understand."

"I had no real intention of using my powers in such a manor, it isn't my place to change the minds of others and I won't ever do it."

"So the test was to be sure I could be trusted to deal with my past or something?"

"Something like that."

"If I didn't pass what would have happened to me?"

Xavier went silent for a moment before speaking again.

"I would have had no choice but to turn you to the authorities and put you through the orphanage system, and I didn't want to put you through the system, I feel that instead of being shuffled from home to home, you should stay with us where you could call a permanent home."

"But I did pass, so that means I can stay?" Xavier nodded his head. I smiled in utter relief and hugged the man, which startled him. " Thank you, really thank you." Xavier pat my back with affection.

"Umm, Professor?" Nightcrawler said. Xavier and I seperated and Xavier turned to face the fuzzy blue elf boy.

"Yes Kurt?" Xavier said.

"Zheres a police car in front of zhe mansion gates." Kurt said. Xavier's eyes widened in fear and he wheeled over to the side mirror.

"Scott, bring in the jet stealthily and everyone meet in the garage. We don't know what to expect from this unexpected visit. Logan, when we get inside, sneak into the garage and bring the car around, if they were here long we need to be sure to not to make ourselves appear like we have something to hide."

"If we need to get us all out of here and into the limo quickly, I would be glad to help." I said.

"Thank you Ripley." Xavier said.

I admit that I was kind of nervous, I didn't know what the police were at the mansion for, but I felt that it wouldn't be nice, because it never really is nice when a police car is parked in front of your house, plus I've never been so sneaky before, especially not with any police. We flew the jet into the hanger as quickly and quietly as we could. Everyone slipped on their normal grabs and I teleported Logan and everyone else, myself included, to the garage, everyone piled into the limo and Logan started the car.

"Ripley, when I say now, teleport us a few feet from the gates, got it?" He said.

"Yes...?" I said nervously.

"Logan, what are you planning?" Xavier asked. Logan just smiled and stepped on the gas a little before he set the car in gear and stepped on the gas more. I closed my eyes and concentrated hard on the outside of the mansion gates.

"Ready? And...NOW!" Logan said. I concentrated a little harder and with a loud rushing noise the car plopped down hard on the ground and continued to drive on. I opened my eyes and saw that we were driving up to the front gate where the police car was, and behind it was another car, a green 90's Nissan. I felt a large lump appear in my throat, because I recognized that car. The limo approached the gate and Logan rolled down the window as a male policeman exit his car and walked up to the limo.

"Good evening officer, can I help you with anything." Xavier asked.

"Yes Mr. Xavier, I was told there is a Mister Joshua Davidson living here in this institute?" He asked. The lump in my throat grew bigger and I felt my heart begin to race.

"Yes, he's right in here? Is there something wrong?" Xavier asked giving the policeman a serious concentrating look. In a few seconds he grew a remorseful expression on his face.

"I just need to ask him a few questions." The officer said. I swallowed a big chunck of air and looked to Xavier with a pleading face.

_"What's he here for? Is he here to take me away?"_ I said telepathically to Xavier. Xavier looked back at me with a grievous looking face.

"Go ahead Ripley, we will all be right here if you need us." He said.

_"Oh god." _I thought as I exited the limo and walked outside to the policeman.

"Before I answer any questions, I just want to know if I'm in trouble." I said.

"No, I don't think so, but I do have to ask a few questions Mr. Davidson." He answered.

"Can you call me Ripley please? Everyone does."

"Okay Ripley, what is your relationship with the Daniels family?" I swallowed my spittle and forced myself to speak.

"I have a close friend in their family, Kyle, he and I have known each other since we were kids. He was adopted by the Daniels this last year. He and I are actually...um, 'boyfriends' if you would."

"So Kyle is your boyfriend or isn't he?"

"No, he is. It's just we both are still kind of in the closet with our relationship."

"Can you tell me what exactly happened the day your home blew up, I understand that you and Kyle were in the house together?"

"Yes, we were arguing, he told me that he wanted us to be open about our relationship and I didn't and he got angry and tried to leave. And as he was leaving, I smelled gas and then all of a sudden there is an explosion and I'm waking up in a hospital somewhere. I don't know which hospital, but..." I stopped talking to see Robert and Julie; Kyle's adopted parents walking towards me, and they looked really sad.

"Robert? Julie? What's going on?" I said looking from them to the officer.

"I still have a couple more questions, can we..." The policeman said.

"No we can't, enough with the questions, I want to know what's going on right now! What the hell happened?" I shouted. Julie just cried silently and Robert held her to try and calm her down. The policeman sighed and grabbed my shoulder gently.

"I'm so, so sorry Ripley, but your boyfriend is dead." He said. My eyes widened and it felt like my heart had stopped completely.

"What?" I said quietly. "No, he's in the hospital, he's okay. He's just asleep for a while." Robert and Julie walked to me and tears began to fall from my eyes.

"From what I understood, Kyle had some brain damage, and a couple hours ago, it took it's toll."

"No, this isn't true, he's fine, you're lying, you're all fucking liars! He's fine!" I shouted out falling to the ground. "No, please god no, tell me it isn't true!" I shouted in sobs as Robert and Julie held me as I burst into tears and began to cry along with them. Everyone watched me from the limo as they heard the grim news, some of them shedding sympathetic tears for me, including Jean and Kitty, as I wept hard and long into the night, mourning Kyle and the now broken promise I made earlier in the cemetery.

**End of Chapter 21**

**A/N: 'Phew'! This is probably the longest chapter I wrote so far. I had an experience almost like at the end of this chapter, I was dating this guy and I heard rumors that he was in a car accident, and because he wasn't answering me I feared the worse had happened. I was a wreck for days, however this turned out to be false and I was so relieved and happy, but I'm afraid that Ripley isn't so lucky. I'm sorry Ripley, but I had to include some tragedy so you could prosper and grow. Favorite and follow and review, because that would make me and Ripley very happy, especially now. Stay tuned for the next chapter. **


	22. Chapter 22

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 22: The Ripple meets The Blob**

The crowd was going wild about the monster trucks crushing smaller vehicles, I however wished that I could follow the crowd's excitement with the smell of cigarette smoke and sewage from the outhouses behind the bleachers.

_"If only I can say this place smells as appalling as the locker room."_ I thought as I smiled at the events of last week when I flew to the school, spray painted a homophobic slur that was placed on my locker into a political statement, and sang like I was in a musical, which really freaked me out ***(Read Ripley Let's it Go for details. Mcc.). **My little stunt made the entire school buzz, well not really, but it sure as hell made the jocks even more unsettled around me, and the weird thing is I really couldn''t find a crap to give, I was having too much fun antagonizing douchebags to really notice. Speaking of which, where Wolverine, Jean, and I were at a monster truck derby and being here was kind of making me uncomfortable. It wasn't just the awful smells and bad scenery that wasn't getting to me, it was also memories of being places like this with Kyle and my dad long ago when Carl stopped drinking for a week and remembered he had a son. Kyle accompanied us a couple times to watch the derbies and we would often hold each other's pinky fingers while Carl would shout and swear at the drivers and tell them to drive better or do something right, it was a wonderful vacation when he wasn't yelling at me. The times I had with Kyle were nice, and it pains me that he died, but I suppose being here now with new friends was a bit better than mourning by myself in my room, especially cool ones like Logan and Jean. However we weren't here for the trucks and destruction of cars from decades now passed, we came here because Cerebro, the computer thingy that tracks down mutants, picked up a mutant around here and we were assigned to come and find him and talk to him, whoever he is.

"So who's this guy we're supposed to find again?" I asked Logan.

"You'll know him when you see him." Logan said.

"Not much to go on, but I suppose it's better than nothing." I said sipping my drink lively. Logan frowned at me and grunted before tilting his hat to cover his face as he chewed away at his toothpick. I've been experiencing a bit of overly extensive sarcasm which sometimes leaks out when I get impatient, which is also bizarre because I don't usually get imapatient.

"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the main event?" A man over the loud speaker said.

_"What, the monster trucks at a monster truck derby weren't main event? Well shit, maybe I should ask for my money back. "_ I thought sarcastically as the crowd began to roar with excitement.

"Here he is, the strongest teenager in the world, Freddy "The Blob" Dukes!" The announcer said as a very large boy who looked roughly seven feet tall or more in height and width appeared behind two monster trucks he was like a baby whale with a blonde mohawk. In his hands he held two thick chains that were attached to two large monster trucks which were revving up and getting ready to start. Dukes nodded once with a large smile on his face at the drivers which made them rev up their engines. With a roar the mighty vehicles sprang forward as the chains quickly uncoiled. My blood was actually pumping a bit and I found myself kind of worried for Dukes, because what if his arms got ripped off or something? I wasn't in the mood for watching someone get hurt, and I wanted to avert my eyes elsewhere, but I found myself continuing to look on. In about a few seconds, the chains snapped straight and the trucks' wheels were spinning, but they weren't moving. Dukes' grip on the chains was incredible and he hardly seemed phased by the force of the accelerating larger vehicles. I sighed in relief.

_"Oh thank God." _I thought putting a hand on my chest.

After a moment of just standing there, he gave a sharp tug and the trucks flew backwards towards him. Dukes jumped high into the air as the trucks' backsides crashed into each other and he landed on their platforms, causing the tires on the trucks to pop like balloons. After a very brief moment of silent, the crowd burst out cheering, I found myself clapping and cheering along with them.

"Holy crap, did you guys see that? That was awesome!" I said. Dukes gave a gentle bow before he lost his balance and fell hard onto the ground. All at once the cheering stopped, and most of the audience broke out into laughter, except Logan, Jean, and me.

_"Oh this is so classic bullcrap."_ I thought as I saw Dukes' face twist and grimace in anger. In a strange way, it reminded me of me somehow, but his rage felt unstable, untamed, and unquenchable like a burning thirst that would swallow up everything until nothing was left.

**Later**

Inside his room, Fred Dukes was tossing about his footlockers and punching holes in his walls, while roaring in fury. He punched one more hole in the wall before his door opened.

"Something wrong?" A voice said. Fred turned around and there was a slender young woman with brown hair and glasses.

"Yeah, these small town hicks." He said fuming. "They've laughed at me for the last time, I'm getting out of here for good."

"That can be arranged." The woman said walking up to the large boy and placing a hand on his shoulder. "In fact, I know somewhere your gifts would be most appreciated."

"Look lady, if you're from the circus, you can forget it." He said.

"Oh no no no no." She said chuckling. "I have something more interesting in mind, care to hear more?"

Fred stood for a couple seconds before making a decision. "Hmm, yeah sure. Why not?" He said walking to the door of his room.

**Ripley's P.O.V. **

After the show, we went inside a large housing complex where Dukes apparently called home to try and talk to him. Logan led Jean and I down the hallways until we stopped abruptly in front of one room, Logan grunted had a kind of a bewildered look on his face like he's seen a ghost or something.

"Hey Logan, what's up?" I asked looking into the room. It was rather dark inside, but I could have sworn I saw someone, a woman, leaned up against the farther wall. Before I got the chance to see who it was, Dukes shut the door startling us all. I thought I recognized the woman for a moment, but then it hit me. "Was that Principal Darkholme?"

"Hmm, yeah." Logan sniffed.

"What? What is she doing here?" Jean asked.

"From what the Prof has said, it looks like she's runnin' all over the place for unfortunate looking kids to put into school, so it looks like you kids might have to do most of the fun yourselves." Logan said. My eyes widened in horror.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, he's going to be coming to school with us, at Bayville High, a breeding ground of stereotypical jock douchebags and Regina George clones?" I asked. Logan looked at me with a raised brow.

"Looks that way." He said.

"Hmm, not one of her best judgements, but again she isn't very keen on that is she?" I said

"What do you mean?" Jean asked. I turned to face her.

"I felt his anger Jean, his hatred, his horrible turmoil, and it scared me. It doesn't matter what I think, but I've been bullied at that school and no one tried to do anything, and I chose to just endure for as long as I could, but if he does go to Bayville High, his rage could run out of control and people could get hurt." I said. I could feel my emotions running rampant , but I quickly recollected myself. Jean clearly saw I was upset and she walked up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"When he gets there, we should introduce ourselves as his friends so he can feel relaxed and like he's in a friendly environment." She said as we walked out of the building.

"I suppose so, but I don't know, there's something off about him, and I feel that something will come to hurt us."

**Later (The Next Day)**

Principal Darkholme was helping Fred Dukes get everything together for his new semester at Bayville High. At the end of their little conference, she handed him a slip of paper that had his schedule for the first semester on it.

"And this will be your schedule for the semester. Any questions Mr. Dukes?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure I can do school again, I didn't really fit too good in the other ones." He said scratching his head in worry.

"You won't have that trouble here, as the principal I can be sure of it." She said with a warm smile. Fred Dukes walked out of the principal's office staring at his schedule trying to figure out where to go for his first class.

"Hmm, okay so... oh man this this is complicated." He said scratching his head as a blonde guy wearing the school's sports jacket walked past him. "Hey you." He grabbed the blonde by his jacket and pulled him to face him. "Where am I supposed to be?"

"I don't know, how about a sideshow?" He said laughing. Fred's face turned red at the guy's insult and he began to growl as he continued to laugh.

"Don't you...make fun...of me!" Fred said tossing the blonde away. He grabbed the lockers next to him and held them over his head, threatening to squish the young man. Behind him a red haired girl and a black haired boy had walked into the hall and saw the commotion.

"Hey, hey man t-take it easy." The blonde guy said backing away from Fred.

"Hi, you must be new here." A voice said. Fred turned his head and there was a friendly looking red haired girl and a well fit black haired young man. "Uh, I'm Jean Grey, and this is David Ripley." She said waving her hand to the young man.

"Please, just call me Ripley." The boy said. Fred smiled at Jean before looking up at the ruined lockers.

"Oh...um...yeah I am. New, I mean." He said placing the lockers where they were originally.

"Yeah we figured." Ripley said. Jean looked at Ripley with a playful frown before looking back at Fred

"Welcome to Bayville." Jean said. "So...what do your friends call you?"

"I don't know, I've never had any friends." He said scratching his chest. Jean and Ripley extended their hands and Fred reached out and shook both of them. "Fred. Fred Dukes."

"Well Fred, we would like to apologize for Duncan, he can be a real idiot sometimes." Jean said.

"But wait a minute, isn't that all the time though?" Ripley said smiling. The three chuckled heartily for a couple seconds before Jean kneeled down down to pick up Fred's schedule off the floor.

"Did you need some help figuring this out?" She said.

"Uh... yes please." Fred said. Jean and Ripley looked at the schedule.

"Hmm, let's see... you're first class is right over there." Jean said pointing to a classroom.

"Huh, thanks." Fred said.

"Don't mention it, the first day is always the hardest, but it gets better." Jean said.

"But in this case I think it should be an exception, it looks like you're with me big guy." Ripley said with a friendly smile and hooking his arms around Fred's arm.

"Okay, well I'll see you guys around." Jean said walking off.

"See you later Jean." Ripley said.

"You sure will." He said crumpling his schedule.

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

When I saw Fred crumple up his schedule, I guess I should have stayed a bit worried, and when he was about to crush Duncan with a locker I really should have been worried, but the way he was calming down made me feel a bit better.

"Come on Fred, we don't want to be late on a first day do we?" I said pulling him along to our first class. We walked a few steps before entering the classroom. The students who were inside began to stare at Fred. Fred clearly didn't appreciate it and his face began to go red.

"What're you all lookin' at, huh?!" He shouted.

"Hey, it's okay Fred, not the staring part, but it'll get better, like Jean said. They just need time to learn to respect a guy who looks like he has his square meals and not an anorexic magazine model." I said pulling at him calming him down and walking over to the other side of the room. "Alright, where would you like to sit. Would you like to sit next to me? I usually sit by the window, but if you don't want to..."

"Uh...sure I don't care." Fred said. I led him to the window seats and I took my seat, and when he took a seat behind me he pushed the desks behind us back a few inches so he could fit. I pulled out a few sheets of paper and looked back at him.

"Just a little warning; this class requires taking a few notes, and I don't know if you have any paper or pencils on you, but here." I said giving him the paper and a couple pencils. "Plus the lectures and lessons get kind of boring sometimes, so don't hesitate to doodle a bit in between notes if you want, okay?"

"Cool, thanks." Fred said. I smiled a bit before turning back around. I felt a bit better about Fred, his temper was still questionable and with his power I still felt it would be a matter of time before something happened and I guess that wasn't very fair of me considering my powers and my short, yet lengthy history, of them. Still I couldn't help worrying, it was just my nature. I just hoped that I wasn't right and things turned out for the better.

**Later**

During the halfway point of the day, lunchtime came around. I got my lunch for the day and went to go sit with the X-Girls.

"Hey hey hey." I said gaily and sitting next to Kitty.

"Oh hey Ripley, how're you?" Kitty said.

"I'm fine, so how's school so far?" I asked. "Any sights set on anyone so far?"

"What? Like, no." She said shoving me with her shoulder before scoffing and looking away from something. "But I can tell you who's sights I'm, like, so not set on." I looked over and saw this guy in a black shirt, jeans, and a brown vest with dark eyes, brown hair, and cheap bike gloves.

"Ah yes, Lance the Rock-alanche of ass." I said. Kitty glared right at me. "Not in that way Kitty, he's like the opposite of that, although..." Kitty slightly kicked my leg and Jean and I playfully giggled as I saw Fred walk in the cafeteria. Kitty saw him and gasped.

"Is that humongous guy the one you guys and Logan, like, went to see on Saturday night?" She said in awe.

"Yeah, Fred."

"Yep, totally worth the useless hours I could've spent doing something else completely worthless." I said taking a bite of pizza.

"Come on Ripley, he's not so bad, when he's not ripping lockers off the walls." She said winking at us.

"He's the one who, like, did that?" Kitty said.

"Yup, and with such perfect finesse." I said.

"Ha, freaky." She said giggling. Scott and Kurt walked over to our table.

"Hey guys." Kurt said.

"'Sup mein freunds." I said putting my hand up for a high five which Kurt delivered. Scott didn't look all to pleased about his day.

"Hey Scotty, what's up. Usually people brighten up when they see me, well, people who are awesome." I said smiling. Scott smiled back at me and put his feet on the table.

"Oh it's nothing big, I just got partnered with the Rogue for drama." He said.

"You and the Rogue, oh man. That's got to be a strange combination, yah?" Kurt said.

"Yeah, I have to play a romantic part with a girl who thinks we tried to kill her. Man she's going to have to be some kind of actress." Scott said sighing.

"No shit." I said sipping my milk and making Kitty giggle.

"Man you have to invite me to your rehearsals." Kurt said.

"Me too, I think it would be a pretty interesting thing to be put on tape." I said. Scott shot a small glare at me.

"You wouldn't dare." He said.

"I wouldn't?" I said smirking and making Kurt laugh. I began to laugh along with him and eventually Scott began laughing as well. Behind us Fred had walked behind us with a massive tray of food when he saw the three of us laughing. He growled once, but we didn't hear him because we were laughing too hard. He walked over to an empty table and sat down in one of the seats, but it broke and his tray made the table catapult a tray of leftovers into the air which splat onto Duncan Mathews and the rest of the jocks. The trio stood up and Duncan growled at the teenaged behemoth laying in his scraps.

"Bad move Blob Boy." He said wiping off some of the smudges from his jacket as his friends followed him to Fred. _"Oh, fuck me." _I thought as Jean and I stood up.

"Stay here Kitty, this could get messy." Jean said.

"Yeah, like that hasn't happened already." Kitty said waving a hand sarcastically. All around Fred, people were beginning to gather as he tried to get up, but wound up slipping on his mess, causing the crowd to laugh, which steadily began to get louder and louder as Fred's face began to go completely red.

"Don't laugh at me!" He screamed. The crowd silenced almost instantly as Fred began to growl and throw food stuffs at the jocks, knocking Duncan down.

_"Oh fuck me sideways." _I thought. The other two jocks grabbed the nearest food items and threw them and Fred, which made him roar and grab a huge glob of God knows what when suddenly someone yelled.

"Food fight!"

_"Oh fuck me sideways with a goddamn dildo!"_ I thought ducking under the table as everyone in the cafeteria began throwing food all over the place at everyone else and splattering stuff all over. Someone threw a cheeseburger at Kitty and it hit her right in the face.

"Ew... excuse me, I am, like, so skipping out on dessert." She said as she phased down through the floor. Jean threw up telekinetic shields around her to protect her from debris as she began to walk towards Fred, who had actually picked up the table and was swinging it around, and blindly because of some food that had splattered over his eyes.

"Fred, you need to calm down." She said to him, but Fred still wouldn't calm down. I got up out from under the table and saw that Fred was swinging the table dangerously close to Jean.

"Jean, get back!" I said. Jean didn't listen to me, or rather couldn't because Fred was roaring too loud for her to hear me.

"Jean!" Scott shouted. Again, Jean didn't respond as she walked quickly to Fred and slipped on a piece of cake and slipped almost right under him.

"Fred?!" She shouted, but Fred kept swinging stomping around, if he didn't beat her to death he would most likely stomp her to death. "Fred!" Scott removed his shades slightly and blasted the table into pieces as I glided over to Jean and moved her away from Fred.

"Put the table down Fred!" I shouted loudly as Scott knelt down in a protective position in front of the two of us with his hand on his shades.

"You heard him big man, but unless you want a fight, try me." He said. Fred began to growl loudly again.

"No Scott. Everything is going to be fine, isn't it Fred?" She said in a calming tone.

"They shouldn't have laughed at me!" Fred said gasping.

"No, no they shouldn't." She said touching his shoulder gently. "Scott, Ripley, don't you guys have classes or something?"

"No, but you've gotta be kidding me." I said. Scott grabbed my shoulder and pulled me aside.

"We'll be close if you need us." He said. "Very...close."

"I'll be fine guys." Jean said holding up a hand. Scott took me by the shoulder and we exit the now messy cafeteria.

"Wow, ya'll really stick out for each other do ya?" A voice said. We looked back and saw Rogue behind an open locker door.

"Yeah, yeah we do." Scott said. Suddenly the locker shut abruptly and there was Principal Darkholme with an agitated face.

"What is going on here?" She said.

"Uh...nothing." Rogue said.

"We were just talking Principal Darkholme." Scott said walking behind her.

"Well, you'd better do less talking and get to class." She said looking right at Rogue. "Do I make myself clear?

"Yes ma'am." Rogue said walking away.

"Oh." Scott said. "Remember in the park after school, and bring the playbook."

"Okay." Rogue said.

"And I'll remember to bring myself." I said.

"What?" Scott said.

"Well, you need an audience to perform a play, right? And an actor is as good as his audience, right?" I said wrapping an arm around Scott's as we began to walk back into the cafeteria to Jean.

"Uh...yeah?" He said nervously as we walked away from Darkholme, who was still looking at us rather darkly (pun intended).

"I'll see you later Fred." Jean said waving at Fred.

"Oh, hey Jean?" Fred shouted. It looked like he was carrying something.

"Yeah?" Jean answered. Fred was silent for a bit before he put the object behind his back.

"Nothing." He said. Scott and Jean walked out of the cafeteria and I followed them a bit before stopping, I was curious about what it was that Fred was carrying.

"Hey, you guys go on ahead, I think I forgot something back there." I said.

"Okay, we'll see you later." Scott said. I nodded my head and went back to the cafeteria doors. I peeked in slightly and saw that Fred was carrying Jean's backpack, and he picked through it's back pocket. He pulled out what looked like a picture of something and frowned dangerously. He tore the picture in half gently and put one half in his pocket, and dropped the other half and squished it under his foot.

_"What the hell are you up to?" _I thought. Fred began walking towards the doors and I ran back behind the locker. I heard the doors open and Fred's heavy footsteps recede down the hallway past me, he didn't see me because he was concentrating on the ripped piece of picture in his hand. I walked back to the cafeteria and looked around for the other half of the picture. I saw a ripped piece of paper and picked it up to see a crumpled image of Scott. _"Oh my god! " _I grabbed Jean's backpack and ran out of the cafeteria, I had to warn her about Fred. The only problem was that I didn't know what class she had next and if she were changing her clothes from the food fight I couldn't go into a girl's locker room and I didn't know how to decipher thoughts from others with my telepathy yet. _"Oh fuck me sideways with a goddamn dildo upside-down!"_

**Later**

At the end of the day, thank god for early out Mondays, I rushed around all over the place trying to find Jean and warn her about Fred. I had gotten outside near where there was some maintenance going on for a new auditorium or something when I heard someone yelling.

"Fred, let me go, I have to go home!" A voice yelled.

"You can't, you have to go out with me!" Another voice yelled back. I ran to where the voices were coming from and peeked my head over the corner. Jean and Fred were yelling at each other and Fred was grabbing at Jean and he wouldn't let her go.

"I don't have to go anywhere, but home." Jean said running away, but Fred grabbed her arms and wouldn't let her go. "Let go of me, I'm warning you." I looked and saw bricks and buckets flying right at Fred, but they didn't seem to phase him.

"Is that all you got?" Fred said chuckling darkly.

"Noop." I said making myself known and a nearby trashcan hit him in the head. Fred turned around to face me. "She's got me, now if you don't want me to hit you with anything else, I believe she said 'let go' and I say 'now'." I said as my eyes began to glow.

"Ripley, we're friends. You understand right?" Fred said.

"I thought we were, but friends don't hurt other friends or hold them against their will. So either you let her go now, or else." I said. Fred growled at me and tightened his grip on Jean.

"Or what, you hit like a fag, nothing you do is gonna hurt me." He said. My gut clenched into a ball and I felt my heart palpatate.

"Could you repeat that word?" I said through grit teeth.

"What word?" Fred said.

"'What word' that word. That 'f' word you used just now, use it again." I said clenching my fists.

"Ripley, just go get help I'll be fine." Jean said. I looked Fred deep in the eyes and smiled sinisterly.

"Say it." I said. Fred smirked at me and readied his first syllable.

"Fag...Oooh!" Right as he said it, I teleported and punched him right in the face as hard as I could, but all it did was hurt my hand and make him roar. He swung a large fist at me and it hit me, causing me to hit some scaffolding nearby, causing me to black out.

**(Normal P.O.V.) **

"Ripley! Fred, let me go... AH!" Jean said screaming at the collapsing structure as it began to crumble down over them. Fred covered Jean as the piles of wood, bricks, and thick pipes crashed down on top of them. After the dust settled, Fred rose up from the fallen debris as he picked up Jean, who was unconscious. He lifted up some of her hair and gasped when he saw a large and slightly bleeding welt on her forehead. He looked over where he tossed Ripley away and saw that he too was unconscious and halfway buried with his head and his arm sticking out of the piles of wood and pipes. Fred looked around to see if anyone saw or heard anything before running away and leaving the school grounds with Jean in his arms.

**Later**

"Wakey-wakey sleeping beauty, your table is ready." A voice rang.

"Scott? Ripley?" She said silently.

Jean woke up and looked around to Fred's crazy smile, a very morbid looking room with a large table with plates, silverware, and bowls, and hundreds of candles all over the place. "Pretty sweet, huh?" Jean tried to move, but she looked down to see a large piece of metal had been wrapped around her, binding her to the chair she was sitting in.

"This cannot be happening." She said to herself before closing her eyes and concentrating.

_"Professor, I need help. Please help me." _She said in her mind, hoping for a response.

**Elsewhere**

Outside of the X-Mansion, the two X-Men Shadowcat, aka Kitty Pryde, and Nightcrawler, aka Kurt Wagner, were having a training session, and a little fun. Shadowcat had a football and she had to get a checkpoint before Nightcrawler stole the ball and got to his checkpoint, and Kitty was getting close to her goal. She ran through the trees and making it difficult for Nightcrawler to grab the ball and she kept going for trees and looking back occasionally to see Kurt's reactions. Wolverine, who was wearing a karate gi, and Professor Xavier were supervising the exercise and they were enjoying the kids play around.

"That's it half-pint, keep the ball away from the elf." Wolverine said smiling. Shadowcat ran through one more tree before giving one more glance at Nightcrawler. "But you better concentrate or..." Shadowcat wasn't paying attention and she hit a large branch, which pushed her back and made her drop the ball. Nightcrawler picked it up and chuckled at Kitty's misfortune.

"Hah, it's mine now Kitty." He said triumphantly. Kitty frowned and stood up.

"Give me that!" She shouted running at him. Nightcrawler teleported away and reappeared over a weak looking branch.

"Watch where you're porting." Logan said. Nightcrawler landed on the branch and it snapped, causing him to fall. Kitty ran in Kurt's direction and jumped high into the air, grabbing the football and phasing through the fuzzy elf, while also playfully pulling on his tail before he landed on the ground face first. Nightcrawler looked up to see Shadowcat laughing at him and growled in annoyance.

"What kind of move is that?" Logan said grunting and face palming.

"Hmm, an innovation and adaptation, that's what they are here to learn." Xavier said before grabbing his forehead in pain.

_"Jean, stay calm, we'll find you."_ Xavier said in a large telepathic message.

"She's been kidnapped, and Ripley is hurt." Xavier said to Logan.

"You, elf! Get Cyclops and tell him what's happened. I gotta ride." Logan said running inside the mansion, quickly putting on his Wolverine uniform, mounting his motorcycle and speeding off the institute grounds.

**Elsewhere**

"Do you like me Kate?" A young man with brown hair asked a brown haired goth girl with white streaks in her hair.

"Parddonez-moix? I cannot tell what is 'like me'." She answered.

"An angel is like you Kate, and you are like an angel." The girl giggled and blushed deeply under her make up.

"The girls were right, you are a charmer." She said. Scott flinched for a brief moment.

"Look, I'm just reading the lines, okay?" He said. Rogue ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

"Ah know, Ah was just caught up in the moment, but Ah just...Ah wish..." She stopped talking for a moment.

"You wish what?" Scott said.

"Ah wish...that Ah could get close to somebody, but you know what happens when Ah do." She said sadly. Scott leaned forward a bit before a puff of brimstone and a blue fuzzy elf in a red and black jumpsuit appeared.

"Whoa, did I ruin a tender moment? Sorry to interrupt." He said. Rogue scoffed at Nightcrawler.

"Ah swear, he's like an annoying little brother." She said turning away and crossing her arms. Nightcrawler stuck out his tongue in retaliation.

"What is it Kurt?" Scott asked.

"Jean's been nabbed and Ripley's hurt." Nightcrawler said.

"What?!" Scott shouted grabbing at Nightcrawler's uniform.

"Easy on the exquisite costume mein freund. Wolverine is on the scent, but I'm supposed to collect you." Scott released Kurt and sat back down.

"Ripley...no." He said clenching his fists and slamming them on the table. "Dammit Blob! If he's hurt her..." He looked at Rogue who was looking off to the side. "Do you know anything about this?"

"What? No, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you!" Rogue said slamming her hands on the table.

"Well then I hope you can live with your conscious." Scott said making Rogue turn away again. "Teleporter to the maximum Mr. Wagner."

"Aye captain!" Nightcrawler said saluting.

"Engage." Scott said before the two vanished leaving Rogue dazed, confused, and close to crying.

**Elsewhere**

Wolverine drove up to the front of the school and gave a mighty sniff of the air, he took off his helmet and ran over to where a pile of wood, bricks, and pipes were, and sticking out was the head and arms of a black haired teenaged young man.

"Ripley." He said clearing away most of the debris and pulling the unconcious mutant out the rest of the way before holding Ripley in his arms. He was covered in small scratches and bruises and his clothes had been torn in some places revealing his uniform underneath. "Hey Rip." Logan said shaking him a bit. "Wake up." He slapped the boy once in the face before Ripley's eyes opened up.

**Ripley's P.O.V. **

"Logan? What happened?" I said.

"I was hoping you would know." He said, sitting me up. I groaned a little in pain. "You okay Rip?"

"Oh yeah, having tons of construction crap fall on you makes someone feel real nice, besides that I..." Suddenly I noticed that my pain was suddenly just...gone. Like someone just pulled it right out. "...I actually really feel great all of a sudden."

"Alright smartass, let's go, you can explain on the the way." Wolverine said helping me stand up.

"Rodger." I said playfully saluting, making Wolverine grunt in annoyance.

_"Touchy, very touchy." _I thought. _"But then again, I get to have another motorcycle ride, and this time I'll be conscious." _I looked down at my tattered clothes and sighed. _"Dammit, how many clothes must get ruined in this job? Oh well." _I thought ripping clumps of clothing off my body and burning the rest off until my uniform was fully revealed. Logan led me to his motorcycle and he got on first, and I got on behind him. He touched his communicator and it beeped.

"Chuck, I found Ripley, he's okay. Some small scratches and bruises, but I think he can fight another day." He said.

"Excellent work Logan, drive Ripley back to the mansion and resume the search after that." Xavier said.

"No offense to any of you guys, but screw you, I'm fighting today. I'm just fine, and also, Blob was acting stupid and crazy and it nearly cost Jean's life. And I'm so going to kick Blob's humongous ass for that, and nothing and no one can stop me." I said yelling at the communicator. Wolverine sniffed at me before going back to his communicator.

"We're going to meet you there. Wolverine and Ripley out." He said before looking back at me.

"Yes I was harsh, but I'm very pissed off right now and I don't want anything in my way." I said. Wolverine smirked at me.

"Then we'd better get moving." He said. I raised an eyebrow at Wolverine.

_"Pfft, who's a smartass now?" _I thought as I held on tight for the impending ride.

**Meanwhile**

Professor Xavier had assembled most of the X-Men, save Storm who was away with family for the week, and they were all standing in front of a large computer screen with a map on it.

"I've been in mental contact with Jean, but she does not know where she is. All I can tell is that she and Blob are somewhere in this vicinity." Xavier said pointing to a marked area on a map.

"Then let's move." Cyclops said. Quick to his words, the X-Men all drove out in the other vehicles while Cyclops drove in his car to where Jean would be.

**Elsewhere**

This is gonna be the best night you've ever had." Blob said. "Dinner, dancing..."

"Fred, this isn't right. You can't force someone to like you." Jean's said.

"Why not, I'm stronger than everyone." Blob said flexing his big muscles.

"Being nice usually works better."

"Oh yeah, I just remembered." Blob said walking off and outside the exit door. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Hmm." Jean scoffed uneasily. Outside the building Jean was being held captive in, Wolverine and Ripley arrived on Logan's motorcycle. Wolverine took off his helmet and sniffed at the air deeply before smiling sinisterly and turning on his communicator.

"We found them. They're inside the old iron works in the south end." He said. "I'm going in."

"Logan, don't go in alone." Xavier said, but Wolverine had already turned off the communicator before Xavier finished his sentence.

**Ripley's P.O.V. **

"Stay here kid." Wolverine said.

"No way, I'm going in with you." I said standing up. Wolverine put up a hand which stopped me in my tracks.

"If we both get in there, it could cause him to panic and grab Jean. Plus there's no sense of the both of us getting creamed at once." He said. I lowered my head in defeat.

"Makes sense I guess, but if I hear anything that sounds like something is going wrong I will not hesitate to go in there and mop the floor with Blob's ass, understand?" I said. Wolverine nodded and unsheathed his claws, running right to the front door. When I was sure he wasn't looking, I slowly walked around to the side of the building and put my hands over the wall.

"If you honestly think I'm going to stay put Mr. Logan, you can think again." I said silently as my hands became white hot with blue flame that began to slowly melt away the wall.

**Inside the Ironworks**

Fred was going back to the room where Jean was to present her with an old-fashioned record player with a record on the rotator. He was humming peacefully to himself when from behind him he heard loud slicing noises. He turned around and the front door basically exploded when a scary looking man in an orange and black jumpsuit jumped out and landed on his shoulders. The man punched Fred a couple times before he managed to hit him with the record player and send him flying in one direction. The man gave a mighty roar which scared Fred, he had never seen anyone like this man before. He walked over to a piece of large equipment and lifted it up, ripping the screws that held into place in the ground. He held it high above his head, the man had his eyes wide open in awe at the strength of the young man. Fred threw the large piece of equipment at him and the large chunk of metal slip across the floor a few inches. Fred thought he got the scary man and walked forwards a couple steps to makes sure. He thought the man was down for the count, until something shuffled above him. He looked up and with a mighty roar, the man lunged at him from the supports in the ceiling and began to pummel him until Fred managed to grab his hands. The man struggled to break free from his grasp and headbutt him a few times until Fred jumped forward and landed right on the man.

"Can't...breathe." The man moaned out.

"You can't have her, she's my friend!" Fred shouted. Suddenly a red glow lit the room and a stream of red energy zoomed past Fred's head. He looked up to see the source of the energy and saw a young man wearing a red visor and a dark jumpsuit with a large golden "X" on the front.

"We're just trying to make a way out for her, through you if necessary." He said opening his visor and unleashing the lethal energy behind his eyes. Fred held up one of his arms to protect himself and smirked sinisterly when the optic blasts hardly damaged him at all. He reached down to the scary man and picked him up.

"Don't even think about it lard ass!" A voice called out as blue flames began to sprout at his feet. He turned his head and there was a black haired young man whose hands were glowing with a bright blue flame.

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

My hands were lit with my fire as I walked closer to the crazy behemoth in front of me.

"Put him down." I said. Blob glared at me and held Wolverine up a bit.

"I said 'put him down' now!" I said as the flames surrounding the Blob grew a bit bigger. Blob grinned and he threw Wolverine at Cyclops. Wolverine hit Cyclops hard and the two propelled backwards and hit Logan's motorcycle outside, knocking them both out.

"You bastard!" I shouted as I ran up to Blob, screaming like a maniac and lunged at him. He tried to punch me again, but I teleported behind him and held onto the back of his neck and held on for dear life as he tried to pry me off his neck. Every time he got close to ripping me off, I burnt him a little which actually made him seem stronger. He finally grabbed my arm and pulled me off sharply, tossing me through a window where I looked up to see Jean.

"Ripley!" She shouted frowning at the silhouette of Blob. She used her telekinesis to lift up a file cabinet and ready it for an attack. Blob opened up the door and the file cabinet was shoved into his face top first.

"No one respects me, and you two are the worst! You pretended to be my friends!" He shouted, throwing the cabinet at me. Jean and I quickly stopped it in midair with our telekinesis and set it down someplace else. Blob growled and walked off somewhere, making me a bit nervous. I stood up and limped a bit in pain as I walked over to Jean.

"You okay Jeanie? Did he hurt you?" I asked her as I tried to remove the metallic object wrapped around her.

"I'm fine Ripley." She said. I looked at her forehead and noticed a large mark on it. I lightly touched it and Jean winced a bit.

"I'm going to kick the crap of that maniac." I said as my eyes began to glow again.

"No, really Ripley I'm..." She stopped talking and gasped in fear. I looked in the same direction and gasped too. Through the window, we saw that Fred had picked up a massive piece of machinery and he was aiming it towards us. Suddenly a red flash hit him, causing him to drop the large object. Jean and I widened our eyes in confusion and relief when he dropped it. I assumed it was Scott who woke up and took a shot at him. Blob moved the machine aside and pushed it hard into the assailant, who to mine and Jean's surprise was Rogue.

"Leave them alone, ya damn crazy yahoo!" She shouted with glowing red eyes.

"Or what? You're gonna make me wear bad make up?" Blob said dangerously. I clenched my fists and stood up straight. I had had enough of his mouth and his bullshit, and I was going to put him in his place. I walked forward a bit and put on hand on Jean's shoulder.

"I'll be back." I said.

"Ripley, don't." Jean said. I looked at her and smiled.

"I'll be fine Jean, I promise." I said walking out the door.

"Didn't Mystique tell you what mah powers are?" Rogue said walking a bit forward.

"No, but I don't care." Blob said taking a swing at her. Rogue ducked under his arm and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Mah power is your power and Ah can take more than one!" Rogue shouted as Blob began to moan in pain and get shakey. She then got underneath him and flipped him high into the air. I concentrated hard on him and he stopped in place over a large pile of junk.

"Hit him again!" I shouted. Rogue nodded and fired Cyclops' optic blasts at Blob, making him scream in pain and fall down into the junk. I walked right next to Rogue and readied a fighting stance.

"Nice shot." I said smiling at her. She looked at me for a brief moment before turning to face where Blob was.

"Thanks." She said blankly. The junk began to tremble.

"Follow my lead, and when I say now, we blast him full throttle, okay?" I said as my eyes began to glow. Rogue nodded her head and with with a loud yell, Blob burst from the junk pile.

"You think your powers mean something to me? None of you can hurt me, I'm the Blob!" He said boldly.

"Nope, you're just garbage that wanted a date!" I said as blue flames began to cover my head.

"And Ah'm telling you right now that we're gonna take you out!" Rogue said as her eyes began to glow red. Blob charged at us with a loud roar. We both stood our ground and waited for the right moment. He was really close to us when we made our move.

"Now!"I shouted. Rogue blasted her optic blasts and I threw a large and thick stream of flames and they both hit Blob with powerful force that propelled him through the roof of the building with an almost purple light and left him screaming. The screams began to recede and our blasts began to die down. When the fighting finally settled, Rogue and I stood and looked at each other for a while, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

"You...um...kicked massive ass." I said. "Hmm, literally." Rogue stood there with an almost blank expression on her face before giggling under her breath.

"Um...thank you." She said. We continued to stare at each other for a bit.

"I'll go and get Jean, can you...um...tend to the guys please?" I said. Rogue nodded and went outside while walking to the room where Jean was. I walked into the room and concentrated hard on the metal wrapped around her and expanded it's circumference enough for Jean to slide out from. She rubbed her arms a bit before I walked to her and gave her a hug. She returned the favor and hugged me back. After the hugging, we went outside and saw that everyone was standing around, except for Cyclops who was looking a bit dazed. Rogue picked up his visor and put it back on.

"Here you go. Ah only took a small dose of your powers, you should be feelin' back to normal real soon." She said. Cyclops shook his head to relieve the daze and smiled at Rogue.

"You really are like an angel Kate." He said. Rogue giggled sadly under her breath.

"Mah name's not Kate, and Ah'm no angel." She said looking away.

"But, why did you help us?" Jean asked.

"Ah don't know, Ah just don't know!" Rogue said running off.

"Wait!" I shouted running after her before feeling a hand grab mine.

"Easy Rip, let her go." Wolverine said releasing my hand. "She ain't ready for us. Trust me on this." We all watched as Rogue ran off into the sunset.

"Okay, so maybe she's on the dark icky side, but I figure we, like, totally owe her now." Kitty said.

"Yeah...yeah we do. Big time." Cyclops said putting an arm around Jean's shoulders. Jean smiled at him and he at her for a while before looking back out to the horizon.

**End of Chapter 22**

**A/N: Whoo! Finally done with this one. Sorry I kind of drooped out to the middle of nowhere guys, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and the story so far. Stay tuned for when Ripley gets an amazing gift, meets Spyke and Quicksilver, and gives Scott advice on dating. Favorite and review, because it will make me and Ripley very happy if you do. Thank you!**


	23. Chapter 23

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 23: Gifts for One and Gifts for All**

It was a nice peaceful night at the mansion and I was working up quite a sweat in the mansion's gym, which I actually found difficult to do because I didn't really sweat at all after my powers emerged. Plus I had a bit of extra energy sometimes that was a real pain to relieve and rather than do...something else by myself, I decided to turn to intense exercise, something I never really did when I was human. I was on the treadmill and running really fast for a few miles before I heard knocking at the door. I turned off the treadmill and turned around to see Scott standing in the doorway.

"Hey Scott, what's up?" I asked grabbing a sip of water.

"Nothing, I wanted to ask you something." He said walking up to me. I gave an awkward glance at him and screwed the lid onto my water bottle.

"You want to ask me out." I said. Scott looked at me with a surprised raised brow. I raised up my hands in defense. "Kidding, kidding." I said laughing. Scott shook his head and sat down. "So what's up?"

"I want to ask Jean out." He said. I gasped under my breath and put down my water bottle.

"Really?" I asked. Scott nodded his head and smiled. "That's cool, but why are you coming to me?"

"You're the only one of us who's gone out..." He began.

"...and you were hoping I could give you some advice on dating and asking someone out." I finished.

"Well...yeah. After what happened with Blob last week, I was scared that I would never get a chance with Jean, and now I don't want anything more than to take a chance with her before something else happens." I was astounded by Scott's words, and after all Jean was single after dumping Duncan, and now is a good time as any. Goodness knows I would have liked some help when I was dating Kyle and God knows when I would've felt secure enough to date someone, but it would be nice to help someone else in need. I sighed and pulled up a chair and sat right in front of Scott. I grabbed his knee and looked into his red shades.

"Well...first of all, grow a pair and a conscious and just ask her out already." I said.

"What?" Scott said.

"For God's sake Scotty, you don't have to do anything big and flashy, and you don't need to do anything ginormous to get her attention. You like her and she likes you, just go ahead and ask her out. The worst that could happen is if she says 'no', and if she does, just deal and move on." I said. Scott looked kind of shocked by my words, and looked kind of down all of a sudden. I grabbed his hand. "But you know what? I can guarantee that she will not say 'no' to you. You're a wonderful, responsible, and well-mannered cutie-patootie. She knows that, and she would be infinantly lucky to have you." Scott smiled at me and I knew that he would be alright. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and there was Jean.

"Hey Scott, the professor needs us." She said.

"What for?" Scott asked.

"Storm's nephew is probably going to come here and the professor needs us to help talk with him."

"Alright, let's go." Scott said standing up and patting my shoulder. "Thanks for the talk Rip."

"Anytime, any place." I said stepping back on the treadmill as they left. "Give my 'hello' to Ororo when you see her okay?" I shouted back at Scott and Jean.

"Okay, see you Ripley." Scott said. Kitty then arrived and knocked on the door.

"Ripley, there's someone in the foyer for you." She said. I turned back at her.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"I think it was, like, an insurance guy or something." She said. I jumped in my skin and squealed.

"Shit, I almost forgot, thanks Kitty." I said gathering my towel, my water bottle, and myself and running past Kitty to my room for a change of clothes. A guy from the insurance company Carl was invested in was coming today and giving me the sums of the money from the house and everything we owned. I didn't know how much I would get, but no matter how much I got, I wanted to spend it on Kyle's funeral service. I ran into my room in hardly any time and quickly changed into a black shirt and dark blue jeans and my street shoes for decoration. I flew through the halls until I got to the hallway where the foyer was and put my feet on the ground. Near the front entrance, I saw Xavier ta with a little man with a suit and tie. Xavier looked up at me and smiled.

"Ah yes, here he is now." He said holding out a hand introducing me. "Ripley, this is Mr. Warren, he's here to see you about some financial work." I reached the bottom of the stairs and extended a welcoming hand and he took it in a gentle handshake.

"Mr. Davidson, nice to meet you." Mr. Warren said with a nice smile.

"Likewise." I said smiling back.

"If you gentlemen could excuse me, I have matters that must be met." Xavier said rolling away.

"See you later Professor." I said before turning back to Warren. "So...shall we find some place to chat?"

"Absolutely." He said.

"Okay, follow me." I said leading him to the living room.

**Later**

After discussing some things and some small talk, Mr. Warren showed me a picture of a torched wristwatch with what appeared to be diamonds encrusting the rim.

"Do you recognize this watch Mr. Davidson?" He asked.

"No, I don't think that I or my father had a watch that looked so nice. What about it?" I said.

"Well, it turns out that it was yours." Warren said.

"Uh...what?" I said.

"Your grandmother on your mother's side bought this watch for you a while ago. It was unknown how long it was there when the salvage team found it, but we cross checked the purchase records of the very few watches made like this and it's more recent purchase date was ten years ago and made to your grandmother's name. And since she gave it to you as a gift, it's technically yours. So..." He reached into a bag, pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "...here you are." I looked at the envelope and opened it, pulling out a check with an amount that made me squeak.

"M-m-meep." I said quietly. I stared at the check with my mouth wide open. "Is...is this accurate?"

"Yes." He said smiling. "Well, it's the watch plus the house and various electronic devices and a vehicle."

"Oh...wow...just wow." I said grinning sillily. "I just don't know what to say."

"I don't know about you..." Mr. Warren said standing up. "...but I'd enjoy the hell out of that amount and have fun with it."

"Oh hell yeah I will." I said reaching out for a handshake. "Thank you Mr. Warren. Thank you so much."

"Oh, I'm just doing my job Mr. Davidson." He said taking my hand and shaking it.

"Please call me Ripley." I said. Warren raised a brow at me. "Everyone just calls me that, but Mr. Davidson is fine."

"I like that name, it sounds bold and strong. Well Ripley, it's been nice to meet you." He said.

"Oh yes it has." I said smiling. "Shall I show you out Mr. Warren?"

"Yes, and please call me Miles." He said.

"Alright Miles, this way." I said walking out of the room with Miles following me. When we got to the door I held it open for him and we said our goodbyes before he got into his car and drove away. When I was sure he was free of the gate and out of sight I screamed my head off and flew all over the foyer.

"Woo-hoo! Woo-yeah! Whoop-whoooop-whoooooop!" I screamed and making really weird noises which made Logan and Kurt run in.

"Hey Rip, what's with all the yelling in here?" Logan said.

"Yah, vhere's the fire man?" Kurt said. On the ceiling I was doing a huge happy dance and I had a dirty joke come to mind when Kurt spoke, but I didn't want to ruin my happy moment with upset faces.

"I'm so happy. I'm so happy." I sang as I flew from the ceiling and danced in swirls through the air and grabbed Kitty, who had just entered the room, and danced with her in the air.

"Whoa, Ripley, like, what's up with you?! Put me down." She said. I paused for a moment as my sanity came crawling back and floated down with Kitty in my arms.

"I'm sorry, I kind of went a little nuts because of this." I said showing Kitty the check. She looked at it and squealed.

"Holy crap. Did the guy miss a comma in there?!" She said loudly.

"No, he said it was all completely accurate. Thank you so freaking much grandma." I said to the ceiling.

"Vhat? Vhat did your grandma do?" Kurt said scratching his head.

"The watch she intended to give me was diamond embezzled." I said.

"Vas?" Kurt said.

"This watch my grandma gave as a gift was damaged in the fire, and that's why I'm freaking out over this!" I said showing Kurt the check. He looked at it and squeaked at it.

"Mein gott." He muttered. "Is this...?"

"Ja. Es richtig *(Yes. It's correct.)*" I said in German and surprising everyone. "Yeah, I kind of read your mind for a German response to your exclamation, but forget that, Ripley's freaking rich!" Kitty and I squealed in excitement and I embraced Kurt in an excited hug.

"Okay, okay, enough noise. Come on it can't be that much." Logan said crossing his arms.

"Oh yeah? You want to hear the amount to the nearest thousand or how about the nearest ten thousand?" I said.

"What?"

"Or how about the nearest hundred thousand?"

"Let me see that." Logan said taking the check from me. He widened his eyes for a moment and sniffed. "Damn Ripley." He said handing the check back to me.

"Told you so." I said smilingly.

"Man, vhat are you going to do with this?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know, I mean it's a crazy amount of money that I couldn't really think to spend on anything, but I want to use it to pay for Kyle's funeral since his parents can't afford to make proper arrangements." I said. Everyone looked at me with forlorn expressions. It was silent for a while.

"What? Come on guys, the awkward silence is not cool."

"That's very cool of you Ripley, like, really super cool." She said. "But..." I looked at her with confusion.

"But? What but Kitty? I'm filthy rich and Kyle's dead because of it, it's the least I could do."

"Yah, but Ripley..." Kurt said.

"Yes, we could buy a lifetime supply of breakfast burgers that you could choke on Kurt, but I'm using the money on something that actually means something to me." I said.

"Ripley!" Logan said.

"Ugh, what?!" I said loudly.

"The Prof was going to pay for the funeral for you. He wants us to have the service here and you were going to be the host." Logan said. I suddenly felt a large pit in my stomach and I felt the need to cry.

"We wanted you to have some, like, closure or something and be a bit more happier because you were in a funk a few days ago, so..." Kitty said.

"...ve begged the professor if ve could have the funeral services here and after a vote he said it vas okay." Kurt finished. Tears formed in my eyes and began pouring down my face.

"Y-you guys did that f-for me?" I stammered.

"At first I was kind of nervous about it, but you know what?" Logan said walking up to me. I looked at the man with teary eyes and sniffed.

"What?" I said quietly.

"I told myself to get over it and be there for a kid in need." He said. I put my head down and began to sob. I felt Kitty's arms around my back and a hand on my shoulder. I put my arms around Logan in a large hug.

"Oh vhat the hell." I heard Kurt say as another pair of arms shrouded me. After a couple minutes of silence Logan spoke up.

"Alright, alright, let's not get too mushy." He said. I let go of Logan and wiped away the torrent of wet from my face.

"Sorry, it's just that you guys just rock so hard. I don't know what else to say besides thank you and spontaneously hug people." I said nervously chuckling.

"Well, you could, like, hand us each a piece of your cash." Kitty said. We all looked at her with frowns. "What? I could use some new shoes." I began to smile before giving a little laugh.

"Well, if you can behave yourselves..." I said looking at the massive check. "...how about we cash this in for some pizza, a movie, and a massive shopping spree on me?"

""Like, totally." Kitty said.

"Wunderbah!" Kurt said. We all looked at Logan who just sniiffed.

"What?" Logan said.

"You're kind of a part of this too Logan, what would you like to do, right now, tonight?" I asked.

"Where I'd like to go ain't usually a place for kids." He said.

"Well, how much do you want to drink?" I asked. Logan looked at me with a raised brow.

"What?"

"I know there's a cute little quiet bar you like to go to to unwind, and you like to get beer from the tap because it's foamy and sweeter than most bottled brands." I said.

"How do you...?" Logan said before I began tapping my forehead. Logan sniffed at me and smirked. "Hmph, let me guess, intuition?"

"Noop, telepathy baby." I said before freezing up as everyone was giving me funny looks. "I didn't mean to call you baby, it was just an expression, I swear to god." The funny looks died down and I found the courage to speak up. "Logan, could you drive us to the bank please?"

"Sure, I guess." He said. I looked at him and read his thoughts.

"If you want you can just drive to the bar after the bank. That way you can spend a lot of time there and get back sooner if you need to, I'll bring us back home so you can enjoy yourself. Because honestly, I kind of expect us to be there for a while."

"Sounds like a plan Rip. Come on elf, let's go get the van warmed up." Logan said. Kurt nodded and followed Logan outside.

"I'll be with you guys in a minute, I need to get my shoes." Kitty said.

"Yeah, at the mall." I said holding out a hand. Kitty looked at me with a confused look.

"What?" She said.

"I'm getting you some new shoes, come on." Kitty gave a bright smile and squealed, taking my hand.

"You are, like, so awesome." She said as I held out an elbow, which she looped her arm through as we walked outside.

"Well, after gaining a butt load of money I suppose I would be." I said smirking. Kitty laughed as the X-Van drove up in front of us. When we got inside the X-Van, Kurt looked back at us and raised a brow when he saw Kitty's feet.

"Vhere's your shoes?" Kurt asked.

"At the mall, Ripley's getting me some new ones." Kitty said.

"Oh...okay." Kurt said.

"If you want, I can get you some new clothes, I think I can find some things that could fit you." I said. Kurt raised a brow at me this time.

"Vas that a fat joke or something?" He asked.

"Why, do you you think you're fat?" I said.

"Alright, that's enough. We're either going to the bank or nowhere." Logan said.

"Bank, bar, and then the mall. Thank you." I said smiling. Logan smirked and gave a little chuckle as he stepped on the gas and we drove away off the institute groumds.

**End of Chapter 23**

**A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter didn't have all the things promised in the previous one, but know that I will have the last part of the promised chapter next chapter. Stay tuned and favorite and review, because if you do, it will make me and Ripley very happy. Thank you.**


	24. Chapter 24

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 24: The Ripple meets the Spyke (Part One)**

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

After a few hours of shopping after giving Logan his share of cash for the night and dropping us of at the mall, the youngest of our group teleported back to the front of the mansion laughing and our hands and teeth full of bags. Kitty opened the doors to the front for me while I held her bags and she walked in wearing an almost completely different outfit. She was wearing her favorite jeans, plus a purple tank top with a new pink t-shirt, with cute little sunglasses and her hair now tied in pigtails with little pink balls in her new hair bands.

"Oh my god, Ripley that was, like, so much fun." She said turning back to face me. I walked in wearing new black jeans, a leather trenchcoat, a red crop top, and longboots with little buckles going down the shin.

"Hey, I needed an excuse to finally buy a crop top, especially with these awesome new abs I've been sporting lately." I said waving my full hands over my rippled and exposed belly. "And I've always wanted to pierce my ears, although I must admit it was a bit more painful than what people say." I brushed my now pierced ears that had little diamond studs in the lobes. Kurt walked behind me in his human looking form wearing a black cap, a blood red silk shirt with a black vest, black lace pants, and white dotted black belts crossing around his waistline. I turned to face him and squealed like I did in the mall when I helped picked them out.

"I can't believe you talked me into these clothes, Ripley." Kurt said.

"Come on Kurt, you look hot, plus if you don't like them I can always ask them from you later. Oh, now that we're clear, turn off your image inducer and let's see your best face in them." I said. Kurt nodded and pushed a button on his watch, which made him go from his more human look into his real blue elf form, which made me jump in excitement.

"Now you're really cool and so bleeding cute I wanna squeeze you!" I said grasping my hands and jumping Kurt in a hug.

"Dude, dude, silk!" He said loudly. I quickly let go and fixed his shirt.

"Sorry Kurt." I said looking into a bag. "I hope everyone else likes what I got them."

"I'm sure everyone will like vhatever you got them mein freund, and I'm sure Logan will like his gift after he shreds it to pieces." Kurt said smirking. I looked at Kurt with a frown.

"Well, that just undermines my confidence." I said. "Thanks fuzzball." We all walked to the larger living area and sat back in the couches, and also setting our bags to the side.

"What are we going to do now? Isn't the night still, like, young or something?" Kitty said.

"Hell's yeah. What do ya'll say we bust out these new CDs and dance till we vomit our pizzas." I said pulling out various music CDs.

"Ew, Ripley." Kitty groaned in disgust. I looked at her with puppy dog eyes and put the new CDs in front of the bottom of my face.

"Well, what do you say?" I said blinking innocently.

"Come on Kitty, please? Let's have a bit more fun before the night ends." Kurt said. Kitty grinned a bit before hugging me tight.

"You're, like, so cute when you act more like me than me." She said.

"Damn straight." I said smiling, throwing off my coat, and pulling out one of the disks. "Now let's get this party srarted!"

**Later (Normal P.O.V.)**

The front door opened and the X-Men field leader Scott Summers held the door open for a young brown skinned blonde boy,. The red head Jean Grey followed in after him.

"This is it, Evan, hope you like it here." She said.

"You guys seriously live here? Awesome digs man." Evan said looking around.

"Why thank you Evan." The X-Men leader, Charles Xavier, said as the white haired African goddess Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, rolling him into the foyer. "We hope that you can consider to call this mansion your home if you should like think about it." Evan nodded his head and frowned a bit. Scott put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, we know you didn't trash the lockers kid and we'll help you in any way we can." Scott said. Evan shrugged a bit before walking towards a table with a letter in bold letters. He picked it up and skimmed over the words written on the paper.

"Hey, do you guys know a Logan, Ripley, Kurt, and Kitty?" He said turning around to face the others.

"Yeah, what's that?" Scott Summers said taking the note from Evan and reading it. "Hmm, looks Ripley took everyone out for a fun night."

"Really? I would've thought Logan would have been against an unexpected outing." Storm said.

"Well, you know Ripley, he can turn on the charm on anyone and they crack like an egg." Scott said putting the note down. He looked at Jean and thought about his talk with Ripley, and what he said.

_Grow a set and a conscious and just ask her out already. _

Jean walked into another section of the foyer before Scott gathered his strength and walked in after her.

"Hey Jean?" Scott said. Jean turned around to face him.

"What is it Scott?" Jean said. Scott's face began to blush lightly and he scratched his head. "Scott what's wrong? You're face is turning red."

"I was...um...wondering if you would like to go and...um...have coffee sometime." He asked. Jean's face nearly went as red as her hair.

"Um..." Jean said nervously.

"I mean, if you want, I'm not going to push." Scott said. There was some silence between the two young people.

_"Oh god, she's going to say no."_ Scott thought.

"Yes." Jean said. Scott's face beamed with surprise and overcame the screaming joy.

"Really?" He said.

"Yeah, coffee sounds great." Jean said tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Scott grinned and followed Jean through the halls until something caught their attention. It sounded like music was playing.

"Do you hear that?" Jean said

"Yeah. It sounds like..." Scott said.

"Lady Gaga." Jean finished. The teens kept walking until they found the source of the music inside one of the main living spaces in the mansion.

"Aww, Scott look." Jean whispered pointing at the couch. Scott looked in the direction she was pointing and smiled. On the couch, Ripley was asleep sitting up and Kitty, who was also asleep, was leaning on his shoulder. Kurt had fallen asleep on a chair and had a black cap clutched in his three blue fingers on his chest. It was after noticing the cap that the older teens realized that the trio were wearing new clothes and had scores of bags with new items littering the sides of the furniture.

_"Man, what did they do tonight?" _Scott thought. Jean levitated spare blankets from a closet and draped them over Ripley and Kitty on the couch and Kurt on the chair while Scott turned the CD player off and put the disc inside its matching case. They gathered all the bags they could and walked out of the room, right in the direction of where Storm and Xavier were headed, who were surprised at all the bags they were carrying.

"My goodness, what's all this?" Storm asked.

"Apparently Ripley took Kitty and Kurt shopping." Scott said.

"Where did he get the money for all this? How would he get the money for all this?" Jean said.

"Ripley had a meeting with a gentleman from the insurance company, he must have used the money he gained." Xavier said. "Speaking of whom, where is Ripley?"

"He and the others are zonked out on the couch." Scott said. Everyone walked out of the hall quietly as to not disturb the sleeping X-Men.

"I would have thought Ripley would use the money for Kyle's funeral." Jean said.

"Yeah, I heard Kyle's parents can't afford to have a funeral for him."

"Which is why I have decided to fund the funeral services, and to have it here." Xavier said. Scott and Jean looked at Xavier with surprise.

"Really? That's really cool of you." Scott said. "But why?"

"It was Kitty and Kurt's suggestion to have it. I wouldn't allow this and we argued, but they were correct in their argument. Ripley has been through much pain and great suffering, and they wanted him to have the opportunity to splurge on himself and have a joyful moment. And I'm sure Kyle and Ripley hardly ever enjoyed a loving environment in a luxurious place for themselves as I'm sure they wanted, so a wake here would most likely be the last chance they would get, so I will allow them to finally have their moment." Xavier said. Storm put a hand on his shoulder.

"That is very sweet of you Charles, Ripley must be so happy." She said.

"I was actually waiting to surprise Ripley with the proposal, but it would seem that he knows now and he spent some of his money." Xavier said. "I guess it was a matter of time with Kitty and Kurt."

"Yep, looks like I need to find a suit." Scott said.

"And maybe I need to find myself a new outfit as well." Jean said. Scott and Jean looked at each other and without any control of themselves began to smile at each other before snapping back to reality and blushing deep. "Something not too dressy of course."

"Of course not, it's a funeral and we don't want to look too classy." Scott said.

"Yeah, we really don't." Jean said nervously. The teens stopped talking for a moment to see Storm and Xavier smiling at them.

"I'm gonna go to bed." Scott said rushing up the srairs.

"Me too." Jean said following him up at the same desperate speed.

"Ah, young love." Xavier said.

"Hmm, agreed." Storm said. "Though it is not without tragedy sometimes isn't it?"

"Yes, that is an unfortunate truth sometimes." Xavier said, thinking about Ripley's past and his own.

**Later (Next Morning, Ripley's P.O.V.)**

The next morning I woke up feeling sore and I felt like someone was leaning on my shoulder. I yawned once and rubbed my eyes as a bit before seeing what was leaning on me. I smiled a bit when I saw that it was Kitty. I poked her gently in the head until she began to stir.

"Hey. Kitty. Wake up." I said repeatedly until she opened a sleepy eye and stretched out her legs as she yawned.

"Morning Rip." She said looking at my arm. "Oops, I think I, like, drooled a bit on your shoulder."

"Oh, don't worry about it. This is why what's-his-face made body wash." I said standing up and stretching my arms so hard I began to float a few inches from the floor. I touched it once more before a wonderful smell filled my nostrils.

"Smells like breakfast is getting prepared. Better get cleaned and dressed for the day, especially if I want to get this Kitty spit off me." I said.

"Shut up." Kitty said chuckling and stretching her arms. I looked at the chair and saw Kurt asleep in it. I giggled at the position his body was in. He was upside-down in the chair, his face was sagging upwards, which made him look like he was smiling like an idiot, and a thin stream of drool went up his face. I walked up to him and knelt down next to his head.

"Oh my god, isn't dis da cutest ting evah?" I said to Kitty in a bubbley tone. Kitty giggled.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be a shame to wake him?" She said.

"Yeah...oh well." I said putting my lips near Kurt's ear.

"Hey Kurt, sweetie?" I whspered. Kurt snorted loudly and slurped up some of the drool going up his face. "Kurt..." Kurt twitched an eye and it opened up a bit.

"WAKE UP!" I yelled. Kurt bolted upwards and he slipped from under his butt and fell right on the floor.

"Verdammt noch mal in die Hölle.** *(Dammit to Hell.)***" Kurt uttered in German. I put a hand on Kurt's back and helped him stand up.

"Sorry mein Freund, but I think breakfast is getting ready and we were sleeping in our clothes all night, so why don't we get cleaned up for breakfast, okay?" I said dusting him off. Kurt frowned at me and yawned deeply before rubbing the gunk from his eyes.

"Alright. Any excuse to get out of these clothes." Kurt said, teleporting away.

"You're still a total cutie pie in those clothes!" I shouted out, thinking he could hear. Kitty giggled at my comment.

"You, like, so like him don't you?" Kitty said smugly.

"Wha- No!" I said defensively. "He's like a cute little brother to me, that's all. He couldn't possibly be as annoying as such if he wasn't." I said. Kitty laughed at my reaction as she walked behind me and out of the room.

_"And she's the annoying as hell little sister. Oh joy."_ I thought grimicingly while I folded up the blankets someone was kind to lay out for the three of us and put them in a closet with some other spare blankets. I grabbed my new leather coat, closed my eyes, concentrated on the image of my room in my mind, and with a small rush of air brushing past my head I felt my feet land on the floor again. I opened my eyes and found myself in my room and saw the bags from the mall and remembered the large sum of money I had received from the investment I got last night, and the wonderful gift Xavier had in store for me. I shook off last night's emotional response so I wouldn't relapse into the same tearful state from last night and walked to my bed. I went through the bags of clothes and pulled out a new long-sleeved gray long shirt wi and a buttonless black vest for my top section and another pair of skinny black jeans and laid them on the bed while I removed my new crop top. I took notice of a large box and remembered what I got for Logan and everyone else.

_"I hope everyone likes what I got them."_ I thought stripping down and teleporting to the nearest bathroom, I really needed a shower. After I was done washing myself and I dried myself off using my flames, I went right back to my room and looked at the clothes laid out on the bed.

"Alright, let's do this." I said as my eyes began to glow. The top items of clothing I left on the bed began to float and move over me. I put my arms up through the sleeves and my head through the neck, adjusting it a bit as the black vest went over my shoulders. The new black jeans floated over to me and I grabbed them and put those on. I looked into the mirror to see how my outfit looked, and I felt like it was missing a little something. My drawers opened up and a couple steel lace necklaces flew out and put themselves around my neck. On the larger one encompassing the other was a round pendent that had a black "X" on it and on the smaller one was another pendent that was in the shape of a solid black "R". I looked at myself in the mirror once more and nodded my head in satisfaction before fixing up my hair and slipping on some white socks and my new leather long boots. I then grabbed a few of the bags from my bed and headed out of my bedroom. While I was walking down the halls, I saw a new guy I hadn't seen before. He was a young African-American boy with blonde hair with a large bald line in his hairstyle and he was wearing a green bathrobe, he must have just gotten out of a shower. I then remembered that last night Jean and Scott went out with Xavier to hopefully recruit Storm's nephew, and it looked like they were successful.

"Um...hello?" I said. The guy turned around to face me. "Are you Storm's nephew?"

"Yeah, who wants to know?" He said. I put down a bag and extended a welcoming hand and a smile.

"I'm David Ripley, but you can just call me Ripley, or Rip if you want." I said. He hesitated, but he took my hand and shook it gently.

"Evan. Evan Daniels." He said. My blood froze and my heart skipped a beat when he told me his last name. I felt so tense that my hand kind of clenched up and I didn't notice that I squished his hand.

"Hey, ow!" He said loudly. My eyes widened in surprise and I quickly let go of his hand.

"Oops, I'm so sorry. I don't know my own strength yet. I'm still getting used to my gifts." I said patting my hand. "Bad Ripley, bad." Evan smiled a little at my joke.

"So when did you get here?" I asked. Evan's face went kind of blank.

"Last night." Evan said blankly. My head tilted to the side in confusion.

"Did something happen last night Evan?" I said. Evan looked at me with a little frown that told me something did happen, but he wanted to be silent. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Hey, it's cool. It's just something I have to deal with on my own." He said.

"So...to change subjects, what can you do?" I asked. Evan looked around and noticed a potted plant on a wooden stool.

"Watch this." He said. He clenched his fists and one large bone like spike emerged from both of his forearms. He then swung one arm at the plant, but missed and hit the wall. He then swung the other arm and the other spike narrowly missed the plant and impaled the wall as well. He smiled nervously and looked at me. I was shocked at the display of his powers and also kind of grossed out.

"That was so cool, but doesn't that hurt you at all when they come out?" I said bewildered.

"Noop, it did feel really weird at first, but after a while it became kind of natural to me, you know?" He said.

"Oh I know." I said letting a sad looking smile slip. "I really do."

"Besides that, I can shred on a skateboard like a boss. So...besides nearly squishing people's hands to death, what else can you do?" He said. I looked at the spikes in the wall and closed my eyes. I concentrated hard on the spikes until until they began to wiggle right out of the wall and torpedoed right at me.

"Hey look out dude!" Evan shouted. I opened my eyes and snapped into my fighter's sense as I jumped out of the way of the spikes, flipping over them and grabbing them as they just about passed my back. I landed on my feet and turned around quickly to face Evan. I crossed my arms and bowed my head like an actor. Evan clapped a bit for my wonderful performance.

"Dude, that was awesome!" He said.

"Thank you, but it is hardly over." I said in a nearly emotionless tone. I began floating upwards and my eyes began glowing while in my hands, the spikes began to glow with heat. After a couple seconds and a large burst of blue flames the boney spears had all, but disintegrated. Evan was awe struck, but I could also notice a twinge of uncertainty.

"Are you afraid?" I asked him as I lowered myself to the floor.

"No, I'm just totally wowed at all the power you have, you must be the coolest guy in the institute." He said. I chuckled heartily at his comment.

"Oh no, I'm just a teenager trying to survive high school and puberty like everyone else, but thanks for the comment." I said smiling and grabbing the bags off the floor.

"What's all that?" He asked.

"Just some stuff for everyone, I hope they like what I got them... Agh! What the hell is wrong with me?" I said loudly.

"What's wrong?" Evan said.

"All these pressies for the main group and I didn't get the new boy anything." I said slapping myself once in the head. "Hel_lo_ Ripley, where'd you go?"

"Hey man, it's okay."

"No, it isn't. After school today I'm going to get you a little something, and I won't take no for an answer." I said. Evan looked surprised at my words before a little smile arrived on his face.

"But first, I believe there are some breakfast fixings that need to get eaten." I said walking further down the hall. "You coming?"

"I'll be down in a bit." Evan said. I nodded my head and continued down the hall before turning back.

"Oh, Evan, you don't have any relations to a Robert Daniels, do you?" I said.

"I don't think so, why?" He said. I smiled in relief, but also in a strange sadness.

"Never mind. See you later cutie." I said walking away and leaving Even wide eyed at my remark.

**Meanwhile (Breakfast Room)**

"So, like, where's the new guy?" Kitty Pryde asked Professor Xavier with a mouthful of toast.

"Still sleeping, he had a rather difficult evening." Xavier said as a faint smell of brimstone and a faint "bamf" noise entered the room as Kurt Wagner found his seat and was wearing his average clothes.

"Ah, I love the smell of bacon in the morning." Kurt said rubbing his hands in excitement for the breakfast spread. Scott took a sip of milk before looking to the professor.

"I think Evan knows who really trashed those lockers. Did he tell you anything? "

"No." Xavier said pointing to his head. "And I'm not going to pry, he'll tell us when he's ready."

"Hmm, ya ask me, he's looking to settle that score personally. Pass the sausages red." Logan said taking a bite of scrambled eggs. Jean put a hand on her head and a platter of sausages began floating towards Logan.

"Ew, that stuff, like, totally clogs your arteries you know." Kitty said.

"I appreciate your concern." Logan said sarcastically and unsheathing his claws and skewering three sausages.

"I think you may be right about Evan's intentions." Xavier said.

"Trust me, Chuck, I may not be able to read minds, but I know what a boy's thinking when he's been wronged." Logan said looking up to see Kurt hanging upside-down from the chandelier and reaching for the pancake container.

"Elf!" Logan shouted, shuting the container. He took in a deep breath and sighed in annoyance before speaking. "How many times do I gotta tell ya, ask and it'll get passed to ya."

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you." Kurt said, teleporting back to his seat.

"That's better, now mind your manners." Logan said sliding the pancake tray to Kurt.

"In any case, it might be best if Evan had other things to distract his mind." Xavier said. "I've already enrolled him in Bayville High. Now Scott, would you introduce him to the basketball coach?"

"Sure. After last night's game, Coach McCoy will jump at him." Scott said taking a sip of coffee. Outside the room, Ripley was standing and listening to the conversation between the X-Men.

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

I was shocked at what I had heard and I immediately understood Evan's distance. If it were me, I would want to settle the score too, but I wouldn't actually do it. But now that I had powers, I guess I would actually do it, so maybe Evan would try as well. I looked at my bags of stuff and sighed.

_"Damn, I can't go in there with a whole bunch of pressies now." _I thought. I then decided to think of another method of giving the gifts when I looked up at the stairwell to see Evan walking away with bone spikes punching holes in his bathrobe. I set the bags on a nearby chair and flew up to him.

"Evan." I said walking towards him.

"Leave me alone." He said angrily.

"We can help you, you know." I said.

"I don't want any help, I can do this alone." He said.

"When you're with the X-Men, you're never alone. You can settle your score fine, but if you're going to do that, then train with us and work with us to control your abilities and make you stronger so we can stop this guy before he can rip off someone else." Evan looked at me with glassy eyes and sighed.

"Fine, but don't get in my way." He said walking away. "He's mine." I shook my head lightly and sighed before teleporting back to the chair and grabbing the bags. I then went all around the mansion and dropped off a bag or two for each of the X-Men, along with a sealed envelope and Kitty and Kurt's stuff in front of their rooms because their gifts were all in my room. I finally got to Logan's room and put down a box and a bag before teleporting away to join the others for breakfast and get ready for the endeavors of the day.

**End of Chapter 24**

**A/N: Sorry guys, I had a little change of mind where the story will be going. Ripley will meet Quicksilver another time, but in the meantime Ripley has a funeral to prepare for. ****Next chapter, Ripley gives Scott his blessing with Jean and helps introducing Spyke to Bayville High. Stay tuned. **


	25. Chapter 25

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 25: The Ripple meets the Spyke (Part Two)**

I walked into the breakfast area and marveled at the large spread, Scott looked up at me and smiled.

"Good morning, Rip." He said. I waved at him and returned the smile with my own.

"Morning Scotty." I said finding a seat next to Jean, who was incredibly smiley, and come to think of it, so was Scott.

"Morning Ripley." Jean said. I raised a brow at her and smiled.

"Good morning Jean." I said. "And good morning everyone else."

"Good morning Ripley. I assume last night was eventful?" Xavier said.

"Yep, and I guess I would be right to assume the same for the rest of you? I met Evan just now, he seems like a nice kid. A little attitude, but a nice kid." I said telekinetically passing myself the pancake tray.

"Yeah, he got himself into a scrape last night and he's takin' it hard." Logan said.

"So I've heard. I heard something about somebody framing him for stealing from lockers?" I said taking a scoop of scrambled eggs.

"Yeah, and we think he knows who, but he wants revenge." Scott said.

"Oh yes, and he's after vengeance with the vengeance." I said taking a bite of eggs. Everyone looked at me with raised brows or funny looks. "What, Kurt can only be the only one with a fancy tongue?" I smiled a bit as Kurt blushed. Scott and Jean laughed together before looking at each other and looking back at their plates blushing deeply.

_"Boy, two lovely people seem kind of happy and awkwardly pussyfooted this morning. I wonder if..." _I thought before shaking my head. _"Could it though?" _I looked at Kitty and she looked at me, waiting for a reason I was looking at her.

_"What's with them?" _I mouthed looking in Scott and Jean's direction. Kitty smiled and pointed at Scott and Jean before putting two fists together and swirling them together. I widened my eyes at what she was suggesting. _"Really?! Awesomeness!" _I began to shake my hands in excitement. I knew Scott had some balls to finally ask Jean out.

_"Good for them, hopefully they'll be happy together. Oh, what am I talking about, of course they'll be, they're the definition of perfect together." _I thought, taking a bite of pancake. I looked at Jean and she was looking at me with a smile.

"You really think so Ripley?" She said hopefully. I poked at my head at a rapid pace.

"Duuuuhh." I said. "That's why I helped Scott gain his courage." Jean widened her eyes a bit.

"Wha- I...thank you Ripley." She said.

"You're welcome, and I hope you enjoy coffee and his company today, I'm sure I would." I smiled a bit, but I couldn't help but feel like it was a sad smile. Jean grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Well, Kyle's dead and I'm not, and I'm far too squeamish to commit romantic suicidal actions, besides that I feel fine." I wanted to say, but I thought it was a little too harsh and mean.

"I'm fine, just fine. I'm just glad I can help you guys finally get together. You're both so wonderful and beautiful, and Duncan was too blind to see that. And Scott, well he likes you, and he always has your best interest at heart. He's a wonderful, and brilliant guy who's compassionate and kind and..." I said. I stopped talking for a moment to see that everyone was staring at me. "Sorry, sorry, a bit of tachyphasia, sorry." I blushed in embarrassment and took a sip of some coffee.

"Hey it's alright man. Oh I almost forgot, thanks for the fun last night." Kurt said, breaking the ice.

"Yeah Rip, like, thanks for all the new stuff." Kitty said.

"No problem, I just hope they appeal to you guys." I said.

_"Thank you so much." _I mouthed to Kurt. Kurt shrugged and smiled at me.

"Oh, speaking of which, I decided to be everyone's sugar momma and spread a little love for everyone. You'll all find a little something in front of your doors when you go back to your rooms." I said.

"Ripley you shouldn't have." Xavier said.

"Oh, but I wanted to, it was the least I could do for you all for everything. I hope you all like what I got you, because I can't return anything." I said. Everyone smiled at me and continued to eat their breakfasts. After everyone was done with their breakfast, we all went to go and rinse off and wash the items used for the meal. Scott and Jean were the ones who washed while I dried using my blue flames. While we were doing the dishes, I noticed that Scott had a rather uneasy look on his face. I could feel his turmoil and his tension and it nearly made me sick, I had enough of my own and I had to do something.

"Hey Jean, why don't you go ahead and finish here? I'll see if Logan can help us with the dishes." I said. Jean looked at me and I pointed my brows to the exit and she nodded in understanding before turning around to face Scott.

"See you later, Scott." She said. Scott watched her leave before turning to face me.

"Why did you ask her to leave?" Scott said scrubbing a pan.

"So I can tell you to get loosen your up ass." I said evaporating the water from the pan. "You're so tense I can actually feel my own ass hurting." Scott blushed in embarrassment as opened the drain to let the water out of the sink.

"It's just so surreal, I've been wanting to ask Jean out for so long, I guess I'm just scared that we'll ruin our friendship." Scott said. I put a hand under his chin and pointed his face towards me.

"Scott, sweetie, you guys are solid. If it doesn't work out as a couple, than I can guarantee that you will still be very good friends." I said. Scott smiled at my words and I felt myself smile back at him.

"Thank you Ripley, this made me feel better." He said.

"It's no trouble." I said putting away one last plate before walking out of the kitchen with Scott.

**Meanwhile**

Everyone else were in there rooms opening ths gifts Ripley was kind enough to get for them. Xavier got some strobe lights for the wheels on his chair, a licence plate that read "X-Man", a new pair of black slacks, a camel turtleneck sweater, leather shoes, and a new black bowler hat. Inside the hat was an envelope. From inside the envelope, he pulled out a letter and read it.

_"Thank you so much for giving me a place to call home and a new life with new people I can call friends. I hope I got your tastes right, and I hope you enjoy what I got you."_

_-Ripley_

He smiled and chuckled at the flattering clothing and the humorous accessories for his chair. For Ororo Munroe, she got a beautiful long white sun dress with a beautiful black flower design that ended barely above her ankles along with a sun hat, a white lace scarf and white sandles. She smiled at the dress and at the words of the letter in the envelope.

_"To a lovely goddess of the storm, here are your tributes. Enjoy."_

_-Ripley_

For Scott, I got him some new silver shades with ruby quartz lenses and a red sweater with a brown leather jacket. Inside if the packaging for the jacket was an envelope for him. He opened it and read the letter inside.

_"Here's a little something to go out in with Jean, stud (If you're not old by then), and I hope these help things along for you. Hugs and kisses."_

_\- Ripley. _

Scott laughed before he took off his glasses and tried on his silver new ones. He stepped into the sight of a mirror and looked at the shining glasses. He smiled at the shine of the lenses and the silver rim, he could definitely tell it was silver, and it was so beautiful.

"Oh my god." He said quietly.

With his condition, he never got a chance to behold other colors besides red, light red, and dark red, and seeing the silver was such a truly wonderful sight for him he almost cried. For Jean, she got a buttonless black sweater jacket and a red dress that would end under her knees, along with four inch black strapped heels. Jean smiled at the dress and read the card inside.

_"Here's some color for you Red, these seem to suit you the best and I hope you enjoy them. BTW good luck with your date. Mwah!"_

_\- Ripley_

Jean put down the letter and took her new dress to see herself in the mirror.

"Oh wow, this is gorgeous." She said twirling around and holding the dress close to herself. She smiled brightly at her reflection in the mirror. "Ripley has amazing taste." In his room, Logan opened up a large shoe box that was full of white wrapping paper with an envelope on top of it all. Logan unsheathed a claw and cut the envelope open and read the card inside.

_"I've seen you enjoy these sometimes, and also how cool and crisp you smell afterwards, and hopefully this little number will add on to that. To a cool and crisp guy."_

_-Ripley _

Logan sniffed at the letter and unwrapped the paper inside the box before raising a brow at what he saw inside. Inside he saw a couple boxes that were labeled "Mint and Sage Cigars" and a shiny new lighter. Logan took out a box, opened it up, and beheld the new cigars' cool smell.

"Hmm, nice." He said looking back into the box. He noticed something else in the wrapping paper and pulled it out. He held it out all the way and saw that it was a brand new leather coat with a pair of goggles attached to the neck. Logan stood up, unzipped the coat, and put it on. It felt comfortable, soft, and smooth on the inside, like the insides were made of furs and silk which made Logan shiver in awe of how nice it felt. He then pulled out a cigar from a box and lit it up, inhaling the warm strong smoke and expelling it. The smoke was cool and it tasted like spearmint chewing gum with a little bit of a spicy kick to it, and Logan enjoyed it flavor emmensly

_"Mmm, Ripley you know how to charm a guy." _He thought taking another whiff of smoke.

**Later**

After finishing the dishes, I ran upstairs to my room to get all the final preparations for my school day finished, and I had to make a little exchange in my bag's insides. I put all I needed for the day into my new bag from the backpack Xavier got me and walked out the door. When I did, I saw Evan walking out of his room.

"Hey, Scott said he'd give us a ride today. You want a ride?" I asked.

"Uh...no thanks." He said holding up a skateboard. "No offense to Scott, but my way's faster."

"You sure? Do you know the way?" I asked. Evan grew a derpy look on his face.

"Huh, didn't think of that. Alright I guess I will have a ride." He said. I looked at him with a confused face, he seemed rather uneasy for some reason, but then I remembered

"Did I come off too strongly before when I called you 'cutie'?" I asked.

"Huh? No, man it's just I...never got hit on by another dude before." He said.

"I wasn't hitting on you or anything like that, I was just being playful." I said holding up my hands defensively.

"So you're not... you know..." Evan said nervously.

"Oh I am, is...there an issue?" I asked. Evan tensed up.

"N-no, it's just I never really know many, uh..."

"Gay people? You can say gay Evan, it isn't a bad word."

He was stammering and getting nervous, and I felt he wasn't sure how to be around gay people.

"I know, but where I came from, calling someone gay was usually an insult, you know?" He said. I sighed as my face sagged in sadness before snapping my face to a normal face.

"I understand that, but just know that saying 'gay' is okay, just don't use the word as a substitute of saying 'that's so stupid', you know?"

"Yeah, okay." He said smiling a bit.

"And one more thing, I apologize if I made you uncomfortable earlier, I was just trying to be friendly. I would like to be friends, if you'll let me." I said.

"Sure man, I guess some new friends wouldn't hurt." He said.

"Well I wouldn't be much of a friend if I hurt you, right?" Evan smiled a bit at my comment.

"I guess not." He said. Looking at a clock in the hallway, I saw that we were almost late for our ride.

"Oh, oops!" I said nearly jumping. "We'd better get a move on or Scott's gonna leave us." I put an arm over Evan's shoulder and led us both through the halls, and the fact he was a little less tense made me feel like we would be okay. I put on a pair of sunglasses I had in my hand as Evan and I walked through the halls and out the front door, where Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Kitty were waiting in Scott's car. I saw that Scott was wearing his new shades and his new sweater and jacket I bought him. Kitty was wearing a new purple dress shirt with black jeans and her hair in her regular ponytail. Jean was wearing her new sweater top with a red shirt and a cream skirt. Kurt was wearing a green button shirt and black jeans, and I couldn't tell if he was actually wearing them because his holowatch was on.

"Well don't you guys look cute, who's your tailor?" I said smiling.

"Same as yours apparently." Scott said returning my smile.

"Well, well, well; small world." I said grinning and walking around to the right back seat of the car and sitting down.

"Wait, wait, this is your car?" Evan said to Scott.

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet, huh?" Scott said.

"Yeah, let me in there." Evan said as he followed suit and sat onto the seat next to me. "So what's Bayville High like?"

"It's alright, it's like every other high school." I said. "Some jocks here, some cheerleaders there, and the rest of the population are just scraping to get by. Nothing too different." Everyone in the car gave me a raised brow. "But we're all there and making the school a bit different, because we're all different, and different is awesome; we're awesome." Everyone lowered their brows and gave some agreeing smiles and nods.

"Alright, are we all ready to go?" Scott asked everyone. We all gave our "yeses" and without any further words Scott hit the gas and we rode off the institute grounds to our school day.

**End of Chapter 25**


	26. Chapter 26

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 26: Remembering Lost Love**

After we all arrived at school, we went inside for the start of the day. I personally escorted Evan to his first class; science.

"Alright, I've never had this guy, well as a teacher, but from what I've heard he's kind of strict on a few things and he doesn't take tardiness lightly, so be sure you pay attention and get in on time. If you do just that and a little more, everything should be fine." I said patting Evan's back.

"Thanks Ripley." He said.

"Don't mention it. Oh, and one more thing, steer clear of the jocks. The guys with the sport jackets. They're really stingy around freshmen and people who don't fulfill their status quota of douchery." I said.

"Oh...okay, thanks man." Evan said. I smiled a bit before taking a deep breath.

"Okay. Well, I hope you enjoy your first day, and I'll see you later." I said patting Evan's back.

"Okay." Evan said.

"Okay." I echoed walking away before turning back around. "Oh Evan!" Evan turned around to face me. "Meet me and everyone else for lunch outside." Evan smiled and gave me a thumbs up, confirming the meeting plans. "Alright, I lo-" I stopped talking for a moment so I wouldn't make myself look weird before I ran off back into the halls leaving Evan confused behind me. As I was running, I felt the need to cry a little, so I ran right into the nearest restroom to wash my face. I turned on the faucet and allowed some water to pool in the cup of my hand before rubbing my face with it. I kept on repeating this until I felt myself calm down a bit. I looked in the mirror and stared on at myself for a while, with my mind racing back.

**Flashback**

_It was years ago, I was just barely ten years old and I was getting picked up by the people of child protective services at last after months of abuse at the hands of my father Carl, and the cowardice of my mother. In my little arms I had my favorite white teddy bear, and I was snuggling him so closely and crying so silently because I was so scared of what was going on, but I was also very relieved to be out of that house, but still horribly frightened at the thought of what Carl would do once I got home. During the drive, the man who was driving, Mr. Adam Smith, kept glancing at me to make sure I was alright, and he could tell I was very unsettled._

_"Hey, it'll be okay Josh, no one is going to hurt you anymore, I promise." He said. I looked up at the man's reflection in the rear view mirror and saw him giving me a gentle smile, which perked me up a bit. After driving for a while, I fell asleep and dreamt deeply and very comfortably for a while until I felt something wiggle my shoulder and shake me awake. "Joshua? Josh wake up, we're here." I stirred myself awake, but not enough to make my body work and saw a fuzzy image Mr. Smith I was holding out my arms._

_"Carry me?" I said in a sleepy tone. Mr. Smith chuckled under his breath before picking me up in his big strong arms and walking us both into a large building with a lot of windows with other children looking at us through the glass or leaning right out the window to get a really good look at me. As we approached the building, a nice looking young woman held open the doors for us._

_"Thanks Gwen. Hey this guy's all kinds of pooped out, could you go grab his suitcase and bring it to his room with us please?"_

_"Okay Adam." Gwen said walking off outside as Mr. Smith carried me into the building. In my sleep I could feel the sensation of rising like I was inside of an elevator and set down somewhere in a bed or something. Suddenly a large ringing noise and someone calling out my name really loud._

**End Flashback**

"Mr. Davidson!" I opened my eyes sharply with a jump and looked around at everyone staring at me, including the teacher. I cleared my throat and sat up straight in my chair. "Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

"Oh no, I'm sorry, I'm just a little off today. I'll be fine, it won't happen again. Please continue." I said. The teacher nodded his head and continued to give a demonstration on math or something. By the time I was finished attending the first of my usual classes, I had started to flashback again while I was in line getting my lunch. I had chosen a slice of pizza with potato tots on the side with a fruit salad and a small carton of chocolate milk. Seeing the pizza reminded me of when I first met Kyle, and how rocky our first meeting was.

**Flashback**

_I was stirring in my sleep, thinking of the momentous morning I had when I felt something poking me in my the side._

_"Hey, it's time to eat." A voice said. I turned over on my other side to avoid the kid who was poking me. "Hey kid, wake up." He began to consistently poke at my back and kept going harder and harder until I was awakened. I sprung out with my hand and grabbed at the poking hand._

_"Hey, what the hell?" I said groggily._

_"Don't swear, now you have to pay a dollar for the swear jar." The boy said._

_"I didn't swear, I said the name of an alternate plane of existence where evil resides. If hell's a swear word I might as well say my street address."_

_"Now you owe two dollars." The boy said._

_"Well I guees it's a damn good thing I don't have two dollars to spare for your damn jar, because I can't give a damn thing!"_

_"Stop swearing!"_

_"Bite me!" I shouted before someone entered the room, Mr. Smith._

_"Hey, hey, hey where's the fire, huh?" He said._

_"He won't stop saying bad words." The boy said pointing at me._

_"Well he woke me up with his bony pointy finger, really hard!" I shouted in his face._

_"All right enough. Josh, I want you to apologize to Kyle for swearing."_

_"Oh my god, I didn't swear. I said 'hell', the name of an alternate plane of existence that is said to be a place where evil people and fags go to." I said._

_"Now that's not a nice word." Smith said._

_"What word?"_

_"Fag, it's a very bad word to say. Say you're sorry Josh."_

_"But..." Smith looked at me with a stern glance before I swallowed my words and half of my pride before sighing. "Alright, I'm sorry Kyle."_

_"Okay good, now Kyle, I want you to apologize to Josh for waking him up the way you did."_

_"But..." Kyle said before Smith gave him a stern look. "Alright, I'm sorry Josh." I gave a little smile, that come to think of it seemed more like a smirk._

_"Alright, there we go, we're all buddies now. Why don't we go down to dinner, it's pizza night." When Smith said "pizza" I stood right up._

_"You just said the magic word!" I said._

_"You like pizza?" Kyle said._

_"Dude, I love that sh..." I said before flowing into another word. "...tuff so much! If it was healthy I'd eat it all the time."_

_"Me too. But wait a minute, it has all the food groups, right?"_

_"Well depending on the toppings and the person, yeah. Dairy from the cheese, fruit from the tomatoes in the sauce, meats are whatever kinds you put on there, and the same goes for vegetables, like onions or peppers."_

_"Yeah, and the grains in the crust and the oils of everything else."_

_"Precisely."_

_"What does that mean?"_

_"I don't know, but I know how to use 'precisely' in a sentence."_

_"Cool. You're actually kinda cool."_

_"No I'm not."_

_"Um...what movies do you like?"_

_"I like the scary kind, but only in the day, not at night. When it's dark or nighttime I get nightmares."_

_"Me too." As we were talking we were walking down the halls to the mess hall with the other kids and Mr. Smith walking right behind us._

**End of Flashback**

I had gotten out of my flashback and saw myself staring at my tray of potato tots, fruit salad, and pepperoni pizza, though I was mostly staring at the pizza. It was funny how we first clicked together, a philosophical discussion on pizza. From then on it was our food, the only one we shared together for years, and now for the first and most unfortunate time it was now just mine, and mine alone.

"Hey Rip!" I heard a voice behind me and I turned around to see Kurt and Evan walking towards the bench I was sitting on. I gave a friendly smile as a nice greeting.

"Hey guys, come over here and join me." I said pointing out the empty seats on the bench. The boys smiled and took a seat next to me on both sides. "So Evan, how's your day going so far?" I said taking a bite of pizza, which had gotten kind of cold.

"It's been alright I guess, for as school goes, ya know?" He said.

"Mm-hm." I said sipping my now warm chocolate milk, which almost made me gag. "Mmm!"

"So Ripley, how has your day been?" Kurt said.

"It's been okay, milk's a bit warm, don't think I want to drink that." I said putting the carton down. "Yuck. I'm also thinking of going about to get a few things for the funeral after school and order a casket for Kyle."

"Who's Kyle?" Evan asked.

"Ripley's boyfriend." Kurt said. Evan looked at me with a surprised expression that quickly turned into a look of pity.

"Oh...I'm sorry man. How'd he die?" He asked.

"When my powers emerged, they caused my house to explode and it killed my father, and it put Kyle in a coma. He held on for a while, he was really strong that boy, but he had a, um...an aneurysm or something and he passed away a few days ago." I said as tears began to form in my eyes.

"Man, that sucks. I'm so sorry." Evan said putting a hand on my shoulder. I sniffed once and wiped away the tears in my eyes.

"It's okay. Carl was a douche, but he was still my dad in the end I suppose, and Kyle..." I said before sighing. "If there is one, God bless that boy, I know he'll be in some sort of a heaven somewhere."

"Would you like some help? We can all get together and go out to help carry stuff for you or something if you want." Kurt said.

"No it's okay, you don't have to." I said.

"Don't have to what?" Kitty said from behind me, startling me.

"Don't have to help him go out and get some things for the funeral after school." Evan said.

"Oh hell no. We're, like, so going with you Ripey." Kitty said sitting down next to me.

"Really it's fine. Xavier said he'd drop off a sealed envelope with a credit card and enough money to spend inside later, and that's really all I need. Plus I'd really rather do this on my own so you guys don't have to..." I said. Kitty wrapped her arms around me and held me tight.

"Well, I may be rude or whatever, but I don't care, I'm going to help you and you can't say 'no', not without me giving you the face." She said as she puffed out her lower lip and her eyes went bright and sad looking. I tensed up in a bit of irritation.

"But..." I was about to detest before she flashed her big blue Puss-in-Boots face at me and made me go numb with a warm feeling, which left me feeling guilty of wanting to say no. And although I still a fighting urge to fight it, it quickly seceded. I put a hand on hers and leaned my head on hers before groaning in defeat.

"Ugh! Alright already Kat, you win. If you all want to come along I won't stop you." I said. Kitty smiled brightly at my words. "But seriously, you really need to stop making 'Puss-in-Boots eyes' at people, or at least me."

"Deal." She said kissing my head and grabbing my milk carton. "Can I have a sip?" She took a sip of the warm milk before spitting it out with a nasty face. "Oh God, that's awful!" We all gave a hearty laugh at Kitty's misfortune before I took a bite of my pizza and began to actually enjoy my lunch, surrounded by my friends. The rest of the lunch period and the day flew by as I continued to flash back to when Kyle and I were getting acquainted.

**Flashback**

I_t was three years after from when I had moved into the orphanage and by then Kyle and I were becoming very close, and I had also made a few friends and hanging out with some of the other kids. Becoming friends with most of them was harder than most, especially because of my social disorders I developed from the years of systematic abuse and "guidelines" from Carl, but Kyle...he was special. We hung out every day, we spent the night's in each other's rooms, even though it was against the rules headed down into the woodlands nearby the town. Supposedly there was a wishing well where some of the kids would go to make wish-dares, whatever those were._

_"So where is this place again?" I asked._

_"It's close, not too far." A girl, Sarah, said as she pushed a couple branches aside._

_"Well, I hope it's not too far, my feet are about a minute from bleeding to death." I said._

_"It isn't too far Josh, your feet will be okay by then." Kyle said patting my back and making me smile. We kept on going a few more feet before we saw a pile of bricks and stones in some kind of circular pattern._

_"Welp, here we are." Sarah said. "Josh Davidson, welcome to the Wishing-Dare Well."_

_"Davidson is a name I'd rather forget, and I'm sorry, "'Wishing-Dare Well', what's that mean?" I said._

_"This well, isn't just a regular wishing well, this is where we wish for dares." She said. I laughed lightly at the term's definition._

_"What's so funny Josh?" Kyle said._

_"That makes no sense at all. With wishes you ask for something that hardly has a chance of actually manifesting and with dares you usually have to comply to the challenge asked of you and produce results, and with wishing for dares it causes the terms for both wish and dare to become mutually exclusive." I kept laughing as I saw everyone else stare at me like I had a sea urchin growing on my face._

_"Come on, it's really fun. Here we'll show you how it works." Sarah said picking up a stone of the ground. "Kyle, would you grab a stone and join me?_

_"Mm-hm." Kyle said grabbing a rock of the ground and joining Sarah near the well. The both of them shrouded the stones with their hands and whispered something into their closed palms before dropping it into the well. After a couple seconds of silence, a noise erupted from the well followed by another a split second after it. Sarah smiled at Kyle, which made him look rather nervous._

_"Alright Kyle, what I wish is for you to dare Josh, to kiss you." Sarah said. I tensed up and all color fell from my face. Kyle looked rather nervous as well as he walked over to me with a flushed expression of uneasiness._

_"Umm...Josh?" He said._

_"Y-yeah?" I stammered._

_"I-I-I dareyoutokissme!" He said quickly. I looked at everyone and blushed in embarrassment._

_"Come on Josh, it's like you said, "You have to comply with the challenge and produce results.", so give us results." One of the boys said._

_Being just into my pubescent years, my frontal lobe was developing and my judgement skills weren't very good, although I was kind of smart back then, except when I just really wanted to be a part of the cool crowd and play their little games. I walked closer to Kyle, leaned in close to his face, and closed my eyes. our lips hardly touching and I could just about taste them._

_" Hah! Gaaaayyyy!" Another one of the kids said. I opened my eyes and ran off into the woods crying._

_"Josh come back! It's dangerous to be out there by yourself! Josh!" Kyle shouted._

**End of Flashback**

At the end of the day I had gotten the credit card from Xavier with the money I needed and was sitting outside the front of the school waiting for everyone else to show up and help me go out funeral shopping for Kyle. Each second I waited seemed like hell for me. I could've been using the seconds to fly over and go find a proper wake and a suit for Kyle's body, which has been in a freezer for weeks and probably all worn out and I would imagine in would need some sprucing up, and I was just sitting on my butt, waiting and wasting more time. I tapped my feet impatiently and twiddled my thumbs for a while before standing up.

"Oh, to hell with this! I don't care how much Kitty's lip pokes out or how big...and wide...and teary...her eyes get-Dammit!" I thought wiping away my tears of the thought Kitty's sad looking Puss-in-Boots eyes. Suddenly two hands covered my eyes, which startled me greatly and made me squeak in surprise like a mouse.

"Hey, guess who?" A voice said. I recognized it to be Kitty's and smirked.

"Well, by those hairy palms I'd say...Kurt?" I said. I heard a scoff before the hands moved off my face and gave my back a gentle slap. I turned around and laughed.

"You're such a bitch!" Kitty said laughing.

"I'm not just a bitch, I'm the bitchiest bitch who ever bitched, bitch!" I said with a a haughty face. Kitty laughed and shook her head.

"What? What?" She said between laughs. I smiled at Kitty's laughter and looked behind her to see Scott and Jean walking out of the school.

"Hey Scotty!" I shouted with a wave. Scott looked over to me and smiled as he walked towards us.

"Hey Ripley, we've been looking all over for you." He said.

"Really? How come?" I asked.

"We heard you were going to go out shopping for Kyle's funeral, and we wanted to catch up with you before you left." Jean said. I groaned in annoyance under my breath and crossed my arms.

"Who told you?" I asked. "Kurt? Evan?"

"No..." Scott said before Kurt and Evan arrived right next to us.

"Yes." Kurt said.

"We thought Ripley would use the extra hands, and extra mind power, to handle stuff." Evan said.

"If I wasn't a mutant with telekinetic superpowers, I think I would take that as an insult." I said in a false defensive tone. Everyone chuckled under their breaths.

"Also, Scott's the only one with a car." Kurt said. "And a driving license."

"That's right, but wait, don't you and Jean have plans for today Scott?" I said. Scott and Jean blushed for a brief second.

"Oh yeah, you guys have a date don't you?" Kitty said in a playful tone. The older teens blushed deeper before they shook their heads and cleared their throats.

"Yeah, but we're more than willing to push it a bit later to help a friend in need." Jean said.

"Or reschedule if we need to." Scott said. I almost cried again, but my face sprouted an instant frown on my face to replace the sob face.

"Scott? Jean?" I said.

"Yeah?" The duo said.

"If you cancel that date tonight on my behalf, I will give you guys such a sunburn. No more pussyfooting around the willows, you both need this first date tonight. Not yesterday night, (though I admit a better choice that would have been), not tomorrow night, not next Friday night, TO-night. You will go out to a nice restaurant, maybe a movie, enjoy each other's company, and have a great evening, understand?"

Alright, but just like you said this morning, "Once you're with the X-Men, you're never alone." right?" Scott said putting a hand up for a high five.

"I'll be damned, he does have tape recorders in the halls doesn't he?" God I love this guy." I thought. I smiled and gave Scott a friendly high-five and interlocked my fingers with his

"Right." I said. Scott smiled and I at him before Kitty locked her arm with mine.

"Alright, enough bromancing. Let's get moving!" She said as pulled me in the direction of the student parking lot, with everyone else following behind.

**Flashback**

_I was out in the middle of the woods, and it was starting to get dark, the sun's final minutes of the day running out. On a fallen tree, I was crying, for being a coward, for being a whiney little kid, for letting myself fall into a dare so ridiculous and so...gay. I didn't want to exchange behaviors like that when I was little, and feeling like the way I did when I was about to kiss him caused me to just...freak out. And the feelings, the wants that were secret from others, and worst of all myself, were at last revealing themselves._

_"Josh!" A voice called out. I looked up and saw Kyle running right at me. "There you are." He said as he tried to wrap his arms around me, but I walked away from him._

_"Get away! Don't...just don't-."_

_"What, don't yell like I care about you? You had me scared to death Josh! Why the hell did you run away?! We've all been worried sick and Sarah's been crying for hours! She thought you got eaten by a bear!"_

_"Well, she shouldn't have told you to dare me to kiss you! I didn't want to kiss you like that I..." I trailed off my words before Kyle got a confused look on his face._

_"What?"_

_"She shouldn't have made the stupid wish, just leave me alone! I don't want to look at anyone."_

_"What did you mean when you didn't want to kiss me like that?"_

_"Nothing, it was nothing."_

_"Josh, please just talk to me. What did you mean?"_

_"I'm not ready to talk about this right now!"_

_"But when? When will you be ready Josh? When will you quit hiding behind your logic and just talk to me?" I flinched._

_"I've wanted to kiss you for a while, I don't know why, but I just do just so bad and I didn't want to kiss you or have you kiss me on a dare or some shit. I wanted us to kiss...because I think I like you, like, like you like you, okay?" I tilted my head down as the years from my eyes began to flow. Kyle looked surprised at my words, but his surprised expression quickly faded as he walked up to me and held my hands._

_"Well that's a relief, because I think I feel the same." He said. I opened my eyes quickly in shock and looked up at Kyle's face._

_"Y-y-you do?" I stammered. Kyle nodded his head slowly and I laughed a bit before I sighed in relief and sniffed._

_"Oh Gods, thank you." I thought._

_"Why did it take a dare for you to tell me your feelings?" I said._

_"I'm so so sorry for before. I wanted to kiss you for a while too and that back there was a perfect time to do so, but that was just really stupid of me, just so stupid." He said._

_"Yeah." I said._

_"When we did have our moment to tell our feelings, I now know that it should be a moment with just the two of us."_

_"So, um...how do we handle this? Do we give it a moment to sink in, do we just kiss like a couple from a film, or do we get down in the dirt like some dirty...MMPH!" I was babbling like a fool before Kyle's lips shushed me up and closed my eyes. After a couple more kisses I opened my eyes and looked into his turquoise blue-green eyes and saw just how beautiful they were for the very first time._

_"I think we're supposed to just shut up." Kyle said. I chuckled and cried a little before we continued to kiss in the final minutes of sunlight of the day._

**End of Flashback**

I was looking around at a very beautiful henna casket with a nice frivolous white design of the bed inside. It seemed perfect, absolutely perfect to me, but something about it still urked the hell out of me. Jean saw that I was staring at the casket and walked over to me.

"It's beautiful Ripley." She said.

"Yeah, it is. I just hope Kyle would have liked it. His favorite color was red, but this doesn't seem like a proper shade of red, but I want it to be something...traditional also. I don't want anything too flashy, but nothing too funeraly and depressing."

"This is a beautiful color Ripley, you should get it."

"Hmm, I'll put it on my maybe list." I said walking off to another casket with a bright brown shell and a beautiful black design over the lids. Kurt walked next to me and smiled me before looking at the casket.

"This one's kind of nice, huh? The design seems to be stable and...comfortable looking." He said. I put a hand on it and sighed in annoyance. The top of the casket felt kind of course and kind of weird, like it wouldn't last for a beer and a dollar.

"This is a 'no thanks'. I'd rather not have a dead human pancake after the first shovel full." I said as I walked back to the henna case and held my chin in deep consideration before moaning like a zombie. "No, this isn't... it just, AAH!" I shouted as I slammed my fists onto the lid of the casket and sighed.

"Whoa Rip, are you, like, okay?" Kitty asked.

"No, I'm trying to do this right and none of these are right. And this casket, this damn casket..."

"What? What's wrong with it? It's beautiful."

"I know it's beautiful, but it's too...I don't know, it doesn't look too flashy or too depressing, or too both of the said flashy and depressing? Or is it, I don't know... too something else? It doesn't say anything bad to you?"

"I don't think so. I think it seems like it's kind of a, like, cheery color, you know?" Kitty said as Jean walked up behind us.

"Yeah, it kind seems kind of relaxed and warm. It feels...human." Jean said.

"Yeah I guess, but I'm not human, and that was the last thing Kyle knew and he was scared of it, of me. So what would I know about human, huh?" I said walking over to a solid black casket. "This seems better, it's not too bright or dark or..." I said trailing off and hitting my head on it. "Not too dark', it's black for fuck's sake you moron! Nothing is darker than black. And the color's too solid and the lights are gonna refract into someone's eyes and blind them. 'Bye Kyle, and now bye eyesight' said the funeral guy." I sighed in annoyance before walking back to the henna. "God, why is this so hard? Is this my punishment for murdering my dad and my boyfriend? Do I not deserve to be the one to lay them down to rest, is that it? And for the love of merciful Zeus can I not babble like a retard for once?"

"Ripley!" Scott said as he wrapped his arms around me. I began to tear up a bit as I felt Scott's hug tighten a bit. "Calm down."

"I'm sorry." I said silently as I wiped away my tears. "It's just so hard doing this, and I want to get this right can't help but feel like I'm being punished for being so horrible."

"You're not horrible Ripley, you've never done something like this before, it's okay to be stressed out. You just need to compose your emotions and take a few deep breaths. Breathe with me. " He said. I took a deep breath in and out a bit quickly at first, but my breathing began to slow down and sync with Scott's. After a while of breathing and getting myself relaxed, I grew a little smile and pat Scott's forearms.

"Thanks Scott. I'm sorry I freaked out." I said as Scott let me go.

"You're welcome Ripley." Scott said. I smiled at him before I rubbed the lid of the henna casket and smiled with a cleansing sigh. "This is the one, I can tell."

**Later**

After the little fiasco at the coffin store, and buying and setting up all of the chairs and tables for people to sit at in the living room and the main hall, I was cooling down from the stress with an extremely brisk cold shower, which steamed off of me because the blue heat coming off of me evaporated the water before it could touch me and it made kind of a sauna effect instead. While I was steaming, I was humming a little tune to try and help calm down, one that came very easy to me, one both Kyle and I knew by heart. After a while of humming I began to sing it out loud, very silently.

"You make me glow, but I cover up, won't let it show."

"So I'm putting my defenses up, 'cause I don't wanna fall in love."

"If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack."

I stopped singing and sniffed loudly to keep the tears from falling out.

"No more crying please. Just please let me get by the rest of the day without the damn crying." I thought as I finally allowed the cold water to touch me. After scrubbing myself off and drying myself I put on a brand new bathrobe and wrapped a towel over my head to dry my hair. As I was walking through the halls, I could hear the clicking sound of heels coming up to the end of the hall where I was headed. I walked to the hallway and saw Jean in her new red dress putting in the other one of a pair of diamond earrings.

"Bow-chika-bow-wow!" I said loudly making Jean look up and smile at me. "Don't I have great taste or what? Give me a little twirl Jeannie." Jean giggled at my comment and spun around for a second before stopping and laughing. I chuckled heartily before walking closer to Jean. "You look gorgeous Jean."

"Thank you Ripley. And thanks for the dress I love it." Jean said as I removed the towel from my head.

"You're welcome, I'm glad you like it. Are you, uh, headed out with Scott now?"

"Yeah, we're gonna go out to dinner, maybe a movie too. Could you help me with my zipper?" She said.

"Sure."

"And, maybe my hair?"

"Mm-hm." I said as Jean handed me a hair band. I zipped the back of her dress up and wrapped her hair up in the band and made a little bun in it before Jean handed me some hairpins. "So, dinner and a movie huh?"

"Yeah, someone suggested dinner and a movie very forcefully earlier, so we decided to go do just that." She said.

"Well good, that someone must be super nice and caring." I said as I finished her hair. "Alright, done." Jean smiled and turned around to face me before wrapping me in a little hug.

"He is." Jean said. "And we love him so much." I flinched after she said that.

"I-I'm sure he does too." I said, trying not to cry. "Here let me look at you." Jean let go of me so I could see her all the way, and she looked positively stunning.

"How do I look?" Jean said.

"Red, you're gonna knock him dead."

"Hey Jean!" A voice called out. Jean and I looked out to who was calling and gasped in shock. There was Scott with black slacks with a matching black coat and his new brown turtleneck with his new silver ruby quartz glasses on his face. For a couple minutes Jean and I stared at this well dressed handsome man before us. Scott looked just as swept away by Jean and looked up and down at her. "Wow, you look great Jean." Jean blushed and moved a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thanks Scott. You look really handsome yourself." Jean said. Scott cleared his throat and fixed his sleeves before looking to me.

"Oh Ripley, I didn't say this before, so...thanks for the new clothes, they're awesome." Scott said.

"You're welcome Scotty, I'm happy to give you guys something nice for what you've given me." I said before sighing. "Man, you guys look so cute together." Scott and Jean looked at me with equal blush. I clapped my hands and walked by the couple. "Well, I hope that you guys enjoy your date, and I hope you have a nice evening. Now if you'll excuse me, I'mma gonna go to bed." I said pointing my thumbs behind me before turning around and waving goodbye to the couple. "Good night and good luck guys." I winked at them before turning back around.

"Good night Ripley!" Jean said.

"Good night Rip!" Scott said before extending his arm out to Jean. "Well, shall we madam?" Jean giggled at his comment before looping her arm with his.

"Why thank you sir." She said as the two walked out of the hall to their glorious evening.

Later that night

**(Author's P.O.V.)**

Scott Summers was laying peacefully in his bed with a cheerful smile on his face. He had finally gone out with the girl of his dreams and he was enjoying his dreams of romantic victory and also thinking about poor Ripley when a loud and terrible shriek filled his bedroom and his mind, making him spring up from his pillow with a hand on his visor ready to attack.

"Who's there?" He said loudly. The shrieking came again which made Scott bolt out of his bed and out his bedroom door. He looked around the hallway as the screaming continued. He walked past Jean's room as she opened her door.

"Who's screaming?" She asked.

"I don't know, it sounds like someone's hurting, bad." Scott said sniffing at the air. "Do you smell smoke?" Jean sniffed at the air too.

"Yeah." She said. Scott ran quickly to one door and banged on it loudly and rapidly.

"Everyone, wake up! Fire!" Scott shouted before moving to another door and banging it rapidly too. "Come on everyone, wake up! Fire!" Kitty groaned as she walked out of her room with raging bedhead.

"Not another drill Scott." She said groggily rubbing her eyes. Suddenly another shriek filled the halls which startled Kitty all the way awake. "Like, what the hell was that?"

"It isn't a drill, and someone's in trouble. Go wake the others, now!" Scott said. Kitty nodded quickly ran to Kurt's room. Scott and Jean were running right to Ripley's room when they noticed that as they were getting closer to the room, the more the smell of smoke seemed to get.

"No. No!" Scott thought. When the two X-Men reached Ripley's door, they saw massive amounts of smoke pouring out from the cracks and a horrible screaming from the other side.

"Ripley, I'm coming!" Scott shouted as he ran to the door. He opened his visor, and expected his red blasts to come from his eyes, but they weren't working. "What?" Scott concentrated harder on the door trying to unleash his beams.

"Scott, what's wrong?" Jean said.

"I don't know, my powers aren't working!" Scott shouted. He always wanted to be able to have his ruby shades off, but now wasn't the time for wishes to come true, especially now when a friend was in danger. "Jean, can you get the door open?" Jean put her fingers to her temples and concentrated hard, but nothing happened.

"Scott, I can't use my powers either!" She said. Another violent scream began to erupt from behind the door, which made Scott begin to violently pound on Ripley's door. "Ripley open the door!" He shouted as the rest of the teenage X-Men soon arrived.

"Oh mein gott." Kurt said as Scott grunted when he rammed into the door.

"Is this Ripley's room? Dear God!" Kitty said as another shriek erupted from behind the door. "I'm coming Ripley!" Kitty ran right at the door, but bounced right off of it and crashed to the floor instead of phasing through it. "OW!"

"Kitty, are you okay? What did you do that for?" Evan said.

"Maybe, like, because I thought I would go through it like I normally can. Why didn't I, and why the hell is Ripley screaming?! What's wrong?!" She said loudly.

"Let me try." Kurt said closing his eyes readying himself to teleport, but nothing happened. Kurt opened his eyes and looked around.

"Vas?" He said closing his eyes and clenching his fists. "Agh! I can't teleport, I don't know how!"

"What do you mean you don't know how? You've been teleporting since, like, preschool." Kitty said.

"I know, but I just can't." Evan clenched his fists hard and focused on his spikes, but all that came out was a few beads of sweat.

"Something's very wrong here, my powers are toast." Evan said.

"This is just like when we were in Ripley's mindscape. Our powers weren't working and we were frightened out of our wit." Scott thought.

"Move!" A voice shouted. Everyone stood aside before the the mutant claw wielding man Logan unsheathed his claws and charged at the door.

"Wait, guys stop!" Scott shouted. Everyone looked at the door and saw that smoke wasn't leaking from the cracks anymore and the screaming had stopped. Scott knocked on the door loudly. "Ripley?" When no one answered him, Scott knocked once more a bit louder. "Ripley?" Again no answer. Scott suddenly began to bang hard on the door. "Ripley!"

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

I woke up screaming and covered with sweat and someone was banging at the door. I didn't know what was going on and I didn't know where I was, so I focused my telekinesis on the door and completely barred it off.

"Ripley! Ripley let us in!" A voice called out. I felt my fear increase as I heard my name called, and I hated it when someone knew my name and I didn't know who it was.

"Get away! You hear me? I'll burn you, I swear to God!" I said as my eyes began to glow and burn with violent blue flames.

"Ripley it's Scott, open the door!"

"Scott?" I said before I remembered who Scott was and where I was. My eyes' glow died down and with a flick of a finger I opened the door with my telekinesis.

"Ripley are you okay?!" Scott said running over to me.

"I'm fine, just a bad dream. Why are you...?" I said before Scott interrupted me with a tight hug.

"Thank God you're okay." He said. I got out of Scott's hug, turned on my lamp and widened my eyes in surprise. All over the floor were very deep and very bad burn marks, like a fire went all over the room and nearly burnt it all to the next floor below. I stood up and looked from the floor to the ceiling, and then to my bed. There were black burn streaks all over it and a large burn mark in the shape of my body in the center.

"What...the...HELL?!" I said. While examining my bed the rest of the X-Men came into my room.

"Dude." Kurt said.

"Oh man." Evan said.

"Ripley, like, what happened?" Kitty asked.

"Are you okay?" Jean said.

I was completely speechless at the sight of my room's state, so much I failed to notice a breeze behind me. Logan entered my room and took notice of the windows and saw that they were all shattered from the inside out, lots of tiny shards of glass littering the balcony outside. Logan looked around the room with his claws unsheathed and sniffed around looking for evidence of a possible intruder.

"Hmph." He scoffed before putting his claws away and looking at me.

"What the hell happened in here Rip?" He asked.

"I don't know, I don't know!" I said clutching my hair and looking around the ruined room.

"Jesus Christ, what did happen in here?!" I thought.

"What happened guys, why are you all here? And why the bleeding hell does my room look like a drug lab pulled a goddamn kamikaze?!" I shouted.

"We heard screaming and smelled smoke. We came to where the screaming was coming from and it led here to your room. There was smoke coming from the cracks of the door and... " Scott stopped talking before taking a breath. "...we thought you were burning and you were dying. And when we tried to get to you, something barred the door from everything and made our powers stop working."

"What?" I said.

"It's true, I couldn't even get the door to wiggle or get a telepathic reading from you." Jean said.

"Ya, and something made me forget how to teleport and Kitty couldn't use her powers to get in." Kurt said.

"I, like, bruised my freaking elbow trying to get in, and when nothing else was working we were all totally freaking out." Kitty said. As they were talking, I was sitting on the floor with an inquisitive look on my face.

"Just like when Scott, Jean, and Kurt were in my mind. Their powers weren't working and they were all freaking out and scared. And they were all desperate to get to me despite their own personal safety or others, just to get to me." I thought.

"And Logan was about to go all, like, Freddy Krueger on the door when you stopped screaming all of a sudden." Kitty said.

"We were all scared that you had gone Ripley. Are you alright?" Jean said. I looked all around my room and then at my own two hands, that were glowing with blue heat. I closed my fists gently and relaxed my shoulders before sitting down on the floor.

"Yeah, too bad my room can't say the same. I guess my powers run rampant when I'm under duress and asleep." I said sighing and punching a hole through the floor. "Aw, dammit to Hell!" I shouted as I stood up. "Speaking of which, can we get out of here?" I walked quickly out of my room and out of the hallway with everyone behind me. I sat on the floor with my back propped up against the wall and my head tilted up to face everyone.

"What were you doing before we burst into your room?" Scott asked.

"I was...dreaming, I-I think. After I said good night to you and Jean, I went to bed and I think I was asleep and I had a dream, a really bad one, come back and became a horrible nightmare all over again. I could smell the fire, the screaming, the burning flesh of all those people, people calling out for help, but I couldn't do anything to help,. And the fire...the horrible laugh that was coming from the blaze..." I said as I began to tear up and my body began to ignite. Scott walked right up to me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Hey, Rip you don't have to say anything now. It's pretty late, we'll talk in the morning." Scott said as my flames began to calm down.

"There's another bed in my room Ripley. You can, like, bunk with me for the night." Kitty said.

"No. Thanks Kitty, but if I did do that to my room, then maybe I need to be somewhere that's more cold and flame proof where I won't hurt anyone. Maybe the Danger Room where all the dangerous things belong." I said walking away from the group.

"Ripley you don't need to..." Scott said walking up to me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted slapping his hand away. "I could have killed you Scott, all of you! If none of you heard me screaming and your powers weren't working like you said, you probably wouldn't have been able to get out! I could've burnt you all alive like my dad and my boyfriend! Understand?!" Everyone looked speechlessly at me. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Look, everyone I'm sorry I yelled, and I'm sorry I slapped your hand Scott I hope I didn't bruise you, but for now until I can get through this next week, I just need you all to keep your distance, for all of our sakes." With those last words and a whoosh of air I teleported out of the hall and porting back to my room walked right to the cabinet in front of my singed bed.

"Please God don't be ruined." I thought opening the doors and sighing in relief.

"Keelah se'lai!" I said loudly and grabbing a Within Temptation CD case out of the cabinet and teleporting elsewhere. When I did leave the room, some of the X-Men, Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Kitty, had returned to my room. They obviously heard me shout and came to my room to head me off. Kurt walked in and sighed out in remorse for my once beautiful room.

"Man, poor guy." Kurt said. Scott sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I wish there was something more we can do to help him." He said.

"You've done well Scott." A voice said. Everyone looked back to the doorway and saw Xavier and Storm standing in the doorway. "But I think I should take it from here."

**Danger Room**

I was in my uniform unleashing my emotions on the Danger Room's programs and machines while loud music blasted through the speakers from the control room. Machines everywhere in the room were blasting at me with lasers, flamethrowers, and metal arrows and I did pretty much nothing but dodge and overheat a few circuits . After a while of this little sequence, I could feel my angst getting better and my emotions were beginning to calm down a bit. Suddenly a tentacle with a large taser device grabbed my body and electrocute me. I screamed in pain as the electricity flew in and out of my body before I felt my fighter's sense overcome me and my mind. I suddenly stopped screaming and my eyes began to glow again with blue light and fire. I grabbed at the tentacle around me and with hardly any strain at all I ripped it right off of me. One other device began shooting explosive frisbees at me, but i didn't flinch as they went right for my upper body. With but a thought, I immobilized the disks in mid-air and watched them disintegrate as the device continued to shoot disks at me. This time I disks swirl around me and back at the machine. They sliced right through it and before the slices of machine could seperate, it exploded. I looked around at all the machines that were still active and a very interesting idea cam email to my mind. I began flying around the room in a perfect circle with my head ablaze and quickly gathering speed, began to increase the heat of the flames after each lap from where I started. As I continued at the pace I was flying, and with my blue flames ignited, I was creating a bright blue halo looking thing with a small black object circling around inside, which was me. After gaining the appropriate speed, I bolted out of the halo and flew up above the center on the ceiling. I then aimed my hand down and a stream of blue fire erupted from my hand and when it went into the halo, the flames suddenly expanded from a thin stream and into a large pillar of combustion and light. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't go blind before I felt the hot winds begin to secede. I opened my eyes and widened them in surprise. All around the Danger Room, every but of technology and weaponry was completely decimated and burnt almost to cinder. I groaned loudly and face-palmed hard before screaming out in anger and unleashing a few torrents of blue fire from my hands to the floor.

"Damn!" I screamed in my head. I suddenly heard clapping and I looked up to the control room to see Xavier clapping his hands at me.

"Very well done Ripley." Xavier said. I looked all around the destroyed Danger Room before dying my flames down and growing a goofy nervous smile on my face.

"Well, I guess I'd say it is." I said before teleporting into the control room. "Though I guess I kind of overdid it."

"Yes, I'm afraid you have, but the display of your abilities was amazing. I had no idea you could concentrate and produce that amount of energy at once."

"Thanks." I said grabbing my arm nervously. "I'm sorry I woke you up, I was having a difficult day yesterday and tonight was no better and I just had to let my negative emotions out and I didn't want to hurt anyone and this was the best place I could do so without doing so. I admit the symphonic metal was a bit much, but I find myself relaxed around it and I guess it was wrong of me to think that it wouldn't be loud enough to reach upstairs. Again I'm sorry."

"It wasn't the music or your abrasive training that awoke me." Xavier said.

"It was my screaming wasn't it?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk about it with you, over a cup of tea." Xavier said rolling away towards the elevator. I followed him for a few steps before I saw a mirror and saw sweat stains under my armpits.

"Can I shower and get dressed first?" I asked.

**Later**

After I had showered and changed into a plain white T-shirt, a pair of pajama bottoms, and shrouding it all with my black bathrobe, Xavier and I were in the main living room of the mansion on the couch. He poured us both a cup of tea and handed one to me.

"Thanks." I said taking a sip. I've never really tried kinds of teas before, but this one was truly euphoric. I could taste raspberries, maybe some orange and ginger, and I loved it a lot. "Damn that's good. What kind of tea is this?"

"It's a blend of different European teas, each made in a different country." Xavier said.

"Mmm, money well spent that." I said taking another sip.

"Ripley, would you explain your dream to me?" Xavier said. I put the cup in my hands and sighed as I looked into the dark liquid.

"It wasn't a dream, not really. It was a memory from my past, one of the grim parts of it, ripped from the suppressed part of my mind and shoved right back in my face." I said.

**Flashback**

_It was an average day, I was hanging out with Kyle and our friends at the orphanage, and Kyle and I wanted to tell everyone about us, and how happy we were. We had this big thing planned out, we were going to get together to play like other days and tonight I felt like we were going to do the naughty. When we were sitting together on that couch that night we had our fingers entangled in one another's. I was leaning towards his ear to suggest going to my room later that night before Mr. Smith walked into the room._

_"Josh, Kyle? We have someone here to see you two." Smith said. Kyle and I looked at him and each other and shrugged. We both got up from our seats and Mr. Smith escorted us to the front._

_"Hey Bae, who do you think is here?" I asked._

_"No idea, could be one of our grandparents." Kyle said._

_"Pfft, yeah right. One of my grandparents, what a crock that would be." We both kept walking through the halls before reaching the front desk of the orphanage. Kyle and I beamed when we saw that the people waiting for us was indeed Kyle's grandparents Stan and Flo._

_"Grandma, Grandpa hi!" Kyle shouted as we ran up to the couple._

_"Hey boys!" Stan shouted. Kyle and I both hugged Stan and Flo tightly and switched back and forth between them for hugs._

_"Hello Joshie-McTater." Flo said. That was her nickname for me. Stan and Flo often came over to visit Kyle and he introduced me to them and they just fell in love with me, almost like I did with Kyle. Stan wrapped an arm around us both and led us to the visiting area of the orphanage before Smith stopped me in my tracks._

_"Josh, we actually have somebody else for you as well." He said. I looked at him with a raised brow and shrugged my shoulders before walking with him to the front door. As we approached it, I could see the outline of someone through the faded glass of the door. I opened the door and stopped right in my tracks. There in front of me, was my father Carl, the constant tormentor of my child._

_"Hey kid." He said. I took a few steps back and ran back through the halls._

_"Josh! Come back here!" Smith shouted before looking back to Carl. "I'm sorry Mr. Davidson, if you'd like to stay in the front room you can."_

_"Maybe it would be best for me to wait outside." Carl said. Smith nodded before following my trail through the halls where I had stopped out in the middle of the halls with my arms crossed._

_"Josh." Smith said to get my attention._

_"What the hell is that son of a bitch doing here?!" I said loudly._

_"Language. He's come to see you."_

_"No way is he coming anywhere near me or in here. If he comes in here I will punch him so hard, I'll make his head into wine and run away from here so fast it'll make Lance Armstrong look like a common jogger."_

_"Please Josh, he's been to therapy and rehab. He's been clean for five whole months now."_

_"Oh, five months, huh? Well that makes up for the most shitty YEARS, I repeat, SHITTY YEARS of my goddamned life! And have you been talking to him?" I said._

_"Yes I have." He said. I scoffed and crossed my arms._

_"Oh great, he's made a friend. What, does he want to take me home to him and his bullshit? I don't think so. You go tell that ugly, lying, low-standard butt wipe to get out of here and never come around me or else I swear to God I'll go princess Diana of Themyscira on his ass." I said walking off at a rapid pace._

_"Josh!" Smith shouted._

_"Talk to my skinny rapidly retreating ass!" I shouted pointing a finger at my buttocks._

_"Josh, get back here!"_

_"Ah ah ah ah, ass!" I said pointing two fingers to my buttocks and running off to the visiting room where Kyle, Stan, and Flo were waiting and talking. I sat down with an impatient grunt and held my head in my fingers._

_"Hey Josh, what's the matter?" Stan said._

_"My ass of a father decided to come by for a pity party or some crap." I said. Kyle leaned forward in his seat and looked at me in the eye._

_"Oh, is that's who that man was?" Flo asked. "He looked so sad."_

_"Oh yeah, that's so classic him. Gets his emotional hooks into you and then when you have your guard down then, 'YANK!', he pulls you apart." I said._

_"Well, from what we heard from Mr. Smith he's sorry for his actions, and you should talk with him, and also wash your mouth out." Stan said._

_"I don't have to talk to the purple leprechaun living in my butt, and I sure as hell don't have to talk to him." I said standing up and walking away with Kyle walking behind me. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around._

_"Sweetie..." He said._

_"Don't 'sweetie' me Kyle. And I'm not saying that because you're going to try and convince me to pity my dad, but if he saw you with me or heard you call me 'sweetie' he would beat us both and try to make it our fault. And then he'll cry and say 'sorry', but still make the beatings our fault." I said. Kyle took my face in his hand and leaned in for a kiss. We shared a few kisses before we stopped._

_"Please talk to him, if he's sorry, really sorry then let him talk." He said. I looked away from Kyle for a few seconds before he turned me back around. "Please? For me?" I looked at his face and sighed in defeat._

_"Fine, but if I come back with a black eye or if I don't come back at all, I'm gonna blame you." I said._

_"Okay, I love you, now go talk to your dad." Kyle said pushing me towards the front door. I scoffed before looking at the door and opening it. Outside, Carl was leaning back on his car with a relatively calm expression on his face. I swallowed my pride, and my tiny breakfast, before walking down towards him with my hands in my hoodie pockets. Carl looked up at me and got off of his car before standing up straight. I walked up to him, but still kept a few inches of distance between us._

_"Hey Josh." Carl said._

_"Hello." I said rather blankly. We both stood kind of swaying in the air for a while before one of us spoke up._

_"You've grown up a bit haven't you?"_

_"Yeah, tends to happen to kids after four years."_

_"Yeah, I'm sorry."_

_"For what exactly Carl? In the years I've put up with your crap I've come to learn that there are lots of things you need to apologize for. Not just for me, but for others, so really you need to be specific." Carl sniffed and scratched his arm. He then went into detail of all the things he did to me and that he had no right to do those things to me. While he was talking, that's when the firestorm came, just all of a sudden right out of the blue. Streams of fire flew around from its source and jumping into every building for blocks, including the orphanage. I ran inside to try and save everyone I could. I first went into the visiting room where Kyle and his grandparents were. The fireplace in the room was gas activated, and it had a plexiglass cover. When that all that fire entered the building it was have punctured a gasline or something and the fireplace exploded. Stan and Flo shielded Kyle from the blast and he was okay, burns on his body in a few places, but he was alive. Unfortunately I can't say the same for them. The blast hit them head on and large fragments of glass entered and shredded their insides. They were dead almost instantly. I didn't know if anyone else had survived, I was far too focused on getting Kyle out of the building. Outside, everywhere was the same thing for miles, nothing but people screaming and running away from the blaze or running inside to save who and what they could. Carl had taken me and Kyle into his car and we were headed back to his place to pack up and leave, but when we got to the house it was already to late. The fire had reached his house, and my mom was supposedly inside. We couldn't cry, we couldn't scream for her or Kyle's grandparents, we had to get the hell out of there if we wanted to live. While we were leaving, in a little inferno of the remains of a house, I could see someone's silhouette, standing upright like a man who had gotten off work on a good day. I peered closely at the man and I could have sworn I saw the faintest thing of a smile and a haunting laugh echoing out in the smoke. I wake up in the night to that laugh occasionally. We drove a few miles before we had finally gotten to a hospital and Kyle was immediately taken to urgent care. I stayed at his side for days before he woke up at last. We immediately started to talk about what had happened and how many lives were lost, and where we would go and what we would do, but I didn't care about the future, I was far too upset. I was so angry and so sad that I could feel both going in and through me and eventually turned into hatred. I hated the fire, I hated the people who ran inside and died for their precious wares instead of running for their lives, I hated Stan and Flo for being there at that moment, I hated that my mother didn't leave Carl long ago, and I hated how life treated me. There was nothing but abuse and tragedy in my life, and I wanted it to just stop. I wished that I change who I was, be someone else who didn't go through such hell._

_"What are we going to do Josh? Everything is gone, everyone is gone, Josh we can't..." Kyle said before I interrupted him._

_"Don't call me that anymore Kyle!" I said as tears flowed and hit the floor. "Never again call me that name. That name is nothing but a curse and a reminder of all that I have lost. My innocence, my home, my friends, family, and for God's sake I almost lost you Kyle! I will not let that wretched name take you away from me too. I want to be someone who won't let something take you, and I sure as hell will be a different person enough to protect you when it tries."_

_"Well...what do I call you now?" Kyle asked. I wiped my eyes and looked out to the rising sun in the horizon outside the window as the perfect name flew into my head._

_"My name is David Allen Ripley, and I will be sure no one will fucking forget it." I said boldly. And that is how I got my name, well most of it anyway. A couple days afterwards I got my name legally changed from Joshua Bassett Davidson to my current full name, David Allen Ripley by a local attorney. As for the town, it took months to repair the damage, and during that time I could still see everyone's faces in all the charred rubble still being swept into trucks and hauled away. Sometimes they would find skeletal remains that were almost completely ash, and every time they did I was hoping that one of them was my mom, just so at least I would know for closure, you know? But when the papers and the obituaries stopped coming in from the town about the fires and my mother's name didn't appear I feared the worst, and what's worse is that I still couldn't get over the guilt of being glad to be alive when so many others were in my place. Kyle and I were the ones who got each other's backs forever and always after that, except we kept our relationship secret. We both had lost so much, and we didn't want to lose each other, so we kept us a secret to protect each other from the world._

**End of Flashback**

I sat there staring at my cup of tea as I finished my tale. The Professor looked at me with something that looked like remorse for me.

"Carl came and took me over here in Bayville where we have relatives and Kyle went with me and got adopted by a wonderful couple who couldn't have children themselves; Robert and Julie Daniels."

"Daniels?" Xavier said.

"No relation to Evan or his father I checked." I said. "We lived in Bayville for two months before my life before the orphanage began again and Carl began drinking again and beating me whenever he had an itch he couldn't scratch. While that was happening my relationship with Kyle began to falter. We were off and on again and this last year we got together for what we thought would be for good, but this year Kyle wanted to be brave for the both of us and came out, even though didn't. I wanted to as well, I really, really did, but I was still too scared, too afraid to lose the one thing that meant something to me. And then the events of the past few weeks, and then here we are."

"My God Ripley. I have heard the stories of that fire and heard a great deal of people had died, I never knew there were survivors. And after all this I'm surprised to hear a young man such as yourself go through such things." He said.

"Yeah, well that's just me I guess; a survivor. That's all I'll ever be I suppose." I said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that's all I've ever done all my life, just survive in whatever way that was possible. I never felt like I was alive, at all, I just wasn't dying. And in all honesty, I would gladly want to die if I didn't want to live so badly. I just..." I sighed and felt tears flow from my eyes. "I just hate this; the way I've always struggled to get by and have absolutely nothing go right for me at all. I hate feeling like I can't just live and not be a survivor and be alive instead of not dying, without feeling guilty that my parents, my friends, and my love are gone and thar I'm responsible for most of their deaths and I'm still alive instead of them. And what I hate most of all is that I may not be able to move forward. I know Kyle would want me to keep going, but I'm just so damn tired of my unquote un-life." Xavier rolled over to me and held one of my hands.

"Ripley, listen to me. The events that transpired against you are absolutely not your fault. You couldn't have known, no one could have known, what would happen in life. What we do, as people, is look onward to the next day and be grateful for tomorrow. Something else we need to remember is that the past is in the past and the future is how we endure the present because the past is history, the future will be a mystery, but today, the current moment you're still alive in, is a gift. That is the reason it is called 'the present', and as long as a single breath is in you Ripley, it is also a gift to the loved ones you lost; to live if not for yourself, then live and work hard at living for them. You are a survivor Ripley, but you must allow yourself out of the rubble and begin to live." I lunged forward and wrapped Xavier in a hug in his little chair and just cried. I promised myself I wouldn't cry, but I just had to or I would have exploded. After a while of crying I let go of Xavier and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Thank you for listening." I said.

"You are welcome Ripley. And don't worry about your room, we'll take care of it later after the funeral." Xavier said before I stood up.

"Good night Xavier, and again thanks for the talking, and the tea, and everything else."

"You're welcome, again. Oh Ripley?" Xavier said. I turned around to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Before you left for the Danger Room, you said something. What does it mean?"

"'Keelah se'lai'. The closest translation for it is: 'By the homeworld we hope to return to one day.'. It can mean other things like, 'Go in peace' or 'May peace be with you', 'have mercy', things like that."

"Where does it come from? I've never heard something like that before."

"It's from the Mass Effect video game series. The language comes from a race of aliens called the Quarian. Many generations ago they were a technologically advanced race with hundreds of different machines and devices, including a very powerful environmental suit which allowed them to survive in almost any type of environment. Things were so great until they were forced by their created virtual intelligence units, the Geth, off their world after one developed actual intelligence and sparked a powerful civil war between the Geth and their creators. Hundreds upon thousands were slaughtered from both sides, and to survive and preserve their race, the Quarian people fled their world on a massive flotilla of large ships. For many millenia, while inside their environmental suits, their immune systems quickly faded away and they became nomads, moving from world to world looking for a new homeworld until they just stopped altogether."

"Why?" Xavier asked.

"Because one certain phrase rang about their flotilla and throughout the known galaxies they shared with the other races out there, giving them hope to one day return to their home. 'Keelah se'lai' is what they all say to give them hope. And in many instances I have seen them grating their world back once and for all. I've never really had a home or anything to hope for, and these people have given me more inspiration to live and find a home. Saying stuff like that strengthens my will to live and gives me hope for a better tomorrow and one tomorrow to have all I want or need. Plus I've always had a knack for integrating languages and cultures into my own life, and so far I've seen that I was right to do so. I'm strangely much more happier than I have ever been, and I feel like this could be my home. Not a house like before, but an actual home." Xavier smiled at me and held my hands.

"I'm glad you feel like this, and I'm thankful you're comfortable with opening up to me." Xavier said.

"You're welcome." I said walking away.

"Oh, I'm also curious to ask, but where did you get your name from?" Xavier said.

"David, from the David and Goliath story in the Bible who destroyed his enemy with nothing but a little stone, and Ripley from the woman played by Sigourney Weaver who faced down the face of her nightmares hundreds of times, literally and metaphorically."

"And Allen?" I blushed deeply, closed my eyes, and cleared my throat.

"Um...Allen is actually the first name of one of my favorite adult entertainment actors." I said. Xavier looked at me with a raised brow before he developed a surprised reaction and cleared his throat.

"Oh my...and may I ask why you chose that name?"

"Because of his endurance and flexibility to many things thrown at him despite his old age." I said chuckling. "Hmm, so to speak." I began to laugh as I saw Xavier's face turn red, with his bald head he looked like a cherry without its stem, which made me laugh a bit harder. After a couple seconds I stopped laughing and cleared my throat. "Sorry about that, I'm just going to go to Kitty's room and try to get some sleep. Thanks yet again Professor, and good night. Hopefully I didn't contaminate your sleep. Good night." I walked out of the room leaving Xavier with his face still red and shiny. I walked out to the institute computer lab and pulled up an Internet yellow page and searched up a name that I hadn't thought of in years. After finding the name, I walked to a phone in the hallway and punched the phone number attached to the name I looked up. I waited while the dial tone rang out before a voice picked up the phone.

"Hello?" A woman's voice said.

"Sarah? It's Josh. Josh from New Jersey."

**End of Chapter 26**


	27. Chapter 27

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 27: Graceful Final Goodbye**

The next morning I had my breakfast consisting of a breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs and turkey sausages slapped between two Belgium Waffles and was thinking about the conversation I had with Sarah last night. She was living in New York City with her birth mother close by and was working on a relationship with a guy named Balder. His name sounded like it had come from the Norse God, the brother of Thor. We talked about the firestorm and it turned out that she was in the woods with a few kids making wish-dares when it happened. She didn't go back to the town, instead she ran away as fast as she could from the fires. She had cleared the Stateline of Jersey before she collapsed in front of a church, where her birth mother was attending. Sarah and her mother lived in a large apartment ever since then, she recently graduated at the top of her class. While I was reflecting, I was at the piano and I was just trying to get the tune of the song I wanted to play just right, but it wasn't sounding correct and it was just pissing me off. I kept on playing on the piano and screwing up to the point that I slammed the piano shut and screamed with my mouth closed.

_"Dammit to hell!" _I thought angrily. I was getting so worked up and pissed off I didn't see that Kitty had walked in.

"Whoa Ripley, like, are you okay?" She said sitting next to me on the bench. I sighed in annoyance and looked at her.

"No I'm not. I'm trying to get this one song just right, this one song. I know how it goes I don't need that sheet music jibber jabber, but every time I try playing it it sounds like the piano is throwing up sand."

"What song are you trying to play?" Kitty asked.

"Heart Attack. It's a song that Kyle and I loved to sing to each other when we were alone, which is ironic because of the song itself, and I thought it would be a sweet way to send him off, you know?" I said sadly. Kitty smiled a bit and propped herself next to me.

"Well, that's, like, so convenient because I totally know how to play that song on a piano." She said smilingly. I widened my eyes for a moment and looked at Kitty with hope.

"Really?" I said.

"Yeah." She answered.

"Show me." I said scooting myself to the right side of the bench. Kitty giggled as she sat beside me and cracked her fingers before getting to work on the piano. When she began to play, I felt the urge to sing the lyrics to the song.

_"I'd never put your love out on the line. I'd never say yes to the right guy."_

_"I'd never had trouble getting what you want, but when it comes to you I'm never good enough."_

Kitty caught onto the song and began to sing along with me in a duet.

_"When I don't care, I can play 'em like a Ken doll."_

_"Won't wash my hair, and make 'em bounce like a basketball."_

_"But you (I) made me(you) wanna act like a girl, paint my (your) nails and wear perfume."_

_"But you, make me so nervous that I just can't hold your hand."_

_"You make me glow, but you (I) cover up won't let it show."_

_"So I'm putting my defenses up, cause I don't wanna fall in love."_

_"Cause if I did that, I think I'd have a heart attack, I think I'd have a heart attack, I think I'd have a heart attack."_

We would have gotten to the next verse if I didn't start crying. Kitty stopped playing the piano and wrapped her arms around me trying to comfort me. She held me for a while before I finally managed to compose my emotions.

"God, I'm sorry."I said wiping away my tears and chuckling. "I must have cried a billion times this week."

"Don't be sorry Rip, these are, like, good tears, you know?" She said. I looked at her with a raised brow.

"I don't follow." I said.

"These tears show that you loved him, and you still love him don't you?" Kitty said rubbing my back.

"God, yes I do, I really do." I said. Kitty wrapped her arms around me again in a big hug.

"Then they're good tears, you know that you loved him and will still love him till, like, the end of his memory. I bet he feels the same for you." I put an arm around her shoulder and held her closely as yet more tears began flowing down my face.

**A couple days later**

The day of the funeral had come at last after all these days of waiting and preparing. It didn't take long for people to come, most bringing flowers, and pretty soon the mansion was nearly packed with expensive vases and flower pots filled to the brim with roses and lillies and various other flowers that were in Kyle's favorite colors; red, yellow, purple, and green. There were a lot of people that knew both Kyle and me, some of them I hadn't seen in years before we were both moved to Bayville. I talked to a few old friends from where we used to live and we talked about how we were and what we were doing in our lives. We would also engage in long emotional conversations about old times we had with Kyle. On one conversation, one of our friends talked about this one time we went to an old well to make wish-dares and how much fun it was to make other people do such stupid stuff for fun.

"But you had to do it, even if you really didn't want to." They said. To our little kid horror, they were our foolish little kid rules and we had to do it. God, I hated and loved the games we used to play, but I felt like they contributed greatly to Kyle and me getting closer together. It was like that first kiss we shared in the woods as kids would lead to our first time we had our actual kiss when became an actual couple and I became the happiest guy in the world, more happier than I have ever been my whole life, but I flinched a few times when I thought of how I screwed up and how our relationship began spiraling down until it went up in hellfire. I cried a lot whenever I thought about the last things we said to each other, and I kept on thinking about it over and over again, but thank God I had someone nearby to give me a hug, a tissue or handkerchief, or a kiss on the forehead. From my teammates in the X-Men I mostly got hugs from Kurt, Xavier, Evan, and Ororo, and once I got a strong one armed hug from Logan. Sometimes I also got kisses from Kitty, Jean, and once I even got a kiss from Scott which surprised me and made me blush.

"You looked like you could use a little extra love from a guy. I uh...hope it's not too soon." He said smiling nervously. I chuckled and hugged him tightly after he said that for a while, tears streaming down my cheeks. I opened my eyes and saw Robert and Julie, who looked really depressed and lonely. I broke away from Scott and thanked him for the hug and kiss before to go and talk to them.

'Hey Rob, Julie." I said. They both looked at me and smiled.

"Hello David." Robert said giving me a gentle handshake. Julie wrapped me up in a hug and began to cry a bit. I pat her back gently and felt tears begin to flow from my eyes too. Almost immediately we got ourselves composed and wiped away our tears quickly.

"I'm sorry." Julie said.

"No, it's alright I understand the sentiment." I said. "I'm so happy you guys could be here."

"Of course we came, we wouldn't want to miss it for the world." Robert said. "But I'm humble to ask, how did you mange to have the funeral here, at a mansion like this?"

"Well, after my house exploded, I was sent here under the owner's care. That guy in the wheelchair over there." I said pointing out Xavier, who was talking with a man. "He saved my life, everyone who lives here did actually. I was so close to dying, on the outside and inside, but they were just so the more willing to bring me back to life." Robert and Julie looked at me with a bit of surprise. "I also developed a poetical side. Zounds!" Robert and Julie chuckled lightly and I along with them before stopping and looking sadly at them.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come around to see you guys during this time. I was just so devastated and I was drowned too much by my sadness I just...forgot about you guys. I'm sorry." I said.

"Oh honey, don't be. We completely understand." Julie said.

"Really?" I said. Robert put a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, really. We never really wanted to see anyone either, we felt that if we did it would make us feel worse." He said. "But that isn't important now, what does matter is that we're here for Kyle, and for you." I wrapped him up in a hug and held him close as Julie wrapped us both in a hug. After all the reflecting and the kind words among friends and family, it was time at last to begin the ceremony. I had been chosen to be the main speaker of the ceremony, but the problem I had with it was that I still hadn't prepared a speech of any kind and I was scared of bursting into tears again. Before I entered the living room where Kyle's casket was and everyone who knew him were gathering, I wondered as to what I would say, and how I would say it and it left me with a horrible lump in my stomach and a rancid taste in my mouth. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Ororo with her hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about what to say Ripley, or how you might say it, speak from your mind and speak from your heart. You'll do fine." She said. I nodded my head and took a deep breath before I walked up to the front of the room and glanced at Kyle's casket, struggling to hold my breath and my tears. I turned around to face everyone in their seats and gathered up all of my courage before I began to talk.

"Um...hello everyone. Thank you all for coming here today." I said as I felt a tear leak out of my eye. " Crap...I'm sorry." I wiped away the tears and cleared my throat. "I originally thought I would come up here and say a beautifully constructed eulogy for Kyle, but I don't have many words to say without tearing up and babbling like an idiot, because I feel like that wouldn't be what Kyle would want. Plus I've been doing that for a while now and I don't want to disgrace him any more than I have already, I know he hated seeing me cry. That's just who he was, he hated seeing someone upset and he wouldn't even think once about hurting someone, although he was a bit stubborn in trying to make things better, but that was just how much he cared. He was a prime example to me. See, I grew up in a violent household with a father who thought violence was always the answer, and for a while I almost believed that until I met Kyle. He taught me to be a better and because of things like that we all knew and loved Kyle Daniels very much and he loved us all, and I loved that sweet boy with all my heart. I know that you all loved him, and he knew it and I knew it, but I feel..." I stopped talking to try and compose myself and my words so I wouldn't burst. "I loved him, like really, really loved him. He was my person, he was my everything, and the reason I would get up in the morning and breathe in the first bit air of the morning. I loved his smile, his laugh, his smooth skin, hell, I loved his smell, even though he wore too much AXE body spray and used too much Selsun Blue when he bathed. I mean, come on you gotta admit he smelled like a soapy glandular disorder." I got a few laughs from the audience before I continued to talk. "But what I feel like what I loved the most his calm attitude towards things and his contagious optimism. And a wonderful perk we had was that the both had a wonderful taste in music. We would constantly sing to each other all the time, and we would sing so many different songs to each other, but one song kept on coming out of us more times than others, and as weird as it is for people to sing to each other when in a relationship, it was just our song, ya know? So, before we say goodbye for the last time I would like to sing our song one last time." I walked to the right of the room and grabbed a microphone off a table as Kitty sat herself on the piano bench ready to play. I looked at the casket and sighed. "This is for you bae." The music of the piano began to play and I began to reprise the lyrics from a couple days ago before going into the chorus and finally reaching the second verse. I thought by then I'd break into a horrible sob fest again, but surprisingly I found myself not tearing up, and a strong increasing feeling of some sort like a strong presence was in the room, hugging me lovingly, and keeping my emotions in check.

_"I'd never break a sweat for the other guys, but when you came around I got paralyzed."_

_"And every time I tried to be myself, it comes out wrong like a cry for help."_

_"It's just not fair, pain's more trouble than love is worth."_

_"I gasp for air, it feels so good, but you know it hurts."_

_"But you make me wanna act like a girl, paint my nails and wear perfume for you."_

_"You make me so nervous that I just can't hold your hand."_

_"You make me glow, but I cover up, won't let it show."_

_"So I'm puttin' my defenses up, 'cause I don't wanna fall in love."_

_"If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack. I think I'd have a heart attack. I think I'd have a heart attack."_

Even though I hadn't finished the song, everything seemed to flow away into the events after I was done singing. I saw everyone outside the mansion as Robert, some of Kyle's and my friends, myself, and Scott carrying off Kyle's casket out of the mansion and into a white hearse. In the background of events I could still hear my voice singing out the lyrics to the song.

_"The feelings got lost in my lungs. They're burning, I'd rather be numb."_

_"And there's no one else to blame."_

_"So scared I take off and I run, I'm flying too close to the sun."_

_"And I burst into flames!"_

All at once after the hearse drove away, everyone who came to the funeral was at the Bayville Cemetery in front of Kyle's casket that was about to lower down into his open grave. I still felt myself hearing and singing the song still, but I could have sworn I heard Kyle's voice singing along with me.

_"You make me glow, but I cover up won't let it show,"_

_"So I'm puttin' my defenses up, 'cause I don't wanna fall in love."_

_"If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack. I think I'd have a heart attack. I think I'd have a heart attack. I think I'd have a heart attack. I think I'd have a heart attack."_

After the lingering singing had finally stopped, all of the final funeral services were already over, I found myself sitting alone in front off the large dirt mound that was now covering Kyle's corpse. I kept looking at the dirt mound and trying hard to think of what just happened, and why I felt so dazed and calm during the song until a thought hit me. I put a hand on the dirt mount and smiled a bit.

"I think I felt you there, watching over everyone who was there, and me. You gave me the courage I needed to sing our song without having a nervous breakdown. You were telling me that you were okay, and that I would be as well." I said looking up at the sky and let out a huge breath before smiling at the tombstone and sat upright. "Hey, so I found out some things about myself, and they're pretty cool. You know the deal with that whole scary my head bursting into blue fire and shit? Turns out I'm a genetic upstart of a human of some sort; a mutant is what I'm told we are. Oh yeah, there are more like me, and I think you would love them. They're nice, they're compassionate about helping others, and they're just so cool. They have powers that would make you just freak out and laugh your ass off. And I don't know if you saw me, but I can fly, I can't get hurt by fire, and I can control and shoot fire from my hands. Oh, and I don't know how, but I can totally kick ass now. I don't know what it is, but sometimes I go just all gangsta on people, who deserve it of course, I wouldn't dream of doing it to good people. I just go nuts and I'm like Jackie Chan meets Uma Thurman. And the team I'm on now, oh my god! The X-Men are just so great and so wonderful, they're so nice and compassionate and they care about what anyone has to say. And also, they taught me to be strong, something I knew you wanted me to be." I put another hand on the mound and began to tremble. "It really sucks, you know? When I finally learned to be tough and be better like I wanted to be is when you were gone, that right there just really stings me. And what makes it worse is what I said to you." I clenched my fists as tears began to fall from my eyes as the events of that day flashed before my eyes. I remembered the pain I felt and when my head burst into blue flames, what my voice sounded like, and how I looked. Like some twisted firey thing right out of hell.

_"__**Go away, right now!"**_ I didn't know what was happening to me, and I didn't know if Kyle would be safe from whatever it was, but now I felt like I was telling him to get out of my life for good. Making that connection made me sick to my stomach.

"But something I learned is that I wasn't at all strong, but rather enduring. And what the difference is between strength and endurance is that with strength I can push walls down, but with endurance I became a wall, and that day I toppled over. I hope that that image of me wasn't all you saw when you were asleep, and it didn't cause you any more pain. You know I didn't, I don't ever want to hurt anyone, I never wished violence on someone. I would talk about it when I was little, and I thought I was too scared to actually do it, but you showed me that it wasn't cowardice, it was restraint. After you taught me that, that was and will be the only thing I swore I wouldn't ever do to anyone, not intentionally or willingly, but I did it anyway, and what's worse is that I did it to you. I hurt you." I closed my eyes and almost began to sob. "I'm so sorry for being so stupid Kyle." Suddenly I felt a strong pair of arms around me that held me close. I opened my eyes and turned my head to see who it was. I widened my eyes and gasped as I saw who it was. Opening his eyes and putting a hand on my face, Kyle held my mouth close to his.

"You didn't mean to Ripley, I know you didn't. I will always know you would never hurt anyone, not unless you didn't mean it. And I will always love you for that." He said. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight.

"But how could you, after what I did? How can I expect to love myself after that?" I said. Kyle grabbed my head and looked deep into my eyes.

"I know I was mad, and I said some things I wish I can take back, but I was just so worried and sad that you wouldn't break free of your fears, and I reacted badly. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I made you think you were awful, and I never wanted you to think that. You're an amazing guy Josh, you'll never hurt anyone, you'll never be anyone like your dad was, and you're a prime example to many people out there." He said. I grabbed his hands and I was about almost said some kind of excuse to further damn myself, but instead I just chuckled under my breath a bit.

"So I guess we're both two stupid sorry idiots after all, huh?" I said. Kyle raised a brow at me, but then immediately giggled at my comment and shook his head.

"Grandma said that to us all the time, and it looks like was right about us after all." He said laughing.

"Bonehead." I said silently making Kyle laugh.

"Stupidiot!" He said making me laugh.

"Dumbass!" We both began calling each other funny nicknames for idiot and laughing and smiling so hard I felt tears coming out of my eyes. After a while, the laughing and the name calling passed and the two of us began looking at each other with a tender, loving gaze.

"We had some good times, didn't we Kyle?" I said wiping my eyes.

"Yeah, we did." He said.

"And there may have been a shit load of bumps in this little roller coaster of ours, but it was a great ride I wouldn't have traded for another."

"Especially if I didn't get to have you in my life."

"Ditto, baby." I closed my eyes and deeply sniffed at the nighttime air and the crisp cool breeze going through my hair. "And if I never got to tell you I love you, I probably would have fallen apart." I looked at Kyle and smiled at him. "Kyle?"

"Yeah Josh?" He said.

"I love you." I have never said that in any other manner of seriousness or compassion to him before I did in that moment. Kyle smiled at me as his cheeks went rose red.

"I love you too." He said getting closer to me. My lips went right to his face and his to mine. All at once the world seemed to go in slow motion until our lips met in a gentle round of kisses. I held him close to me as we continued to kiss. The kissing went on for what seemed like forever until I felt my eyes open up. I quickly scurried and sat upwards on the large patch of grass I was laying on and looked around trying to find Kyle, until I turned at the gray gravestone my head was laying next to as I slept. My eyes began to fill with tears as I wrapped my arms around the gravestone.

"Goodnight my sweet prince." I said silently as the tears continued to flow. "May flights of Angels wing you to your eternal rest." I began to cry as I clutched onto the stone harder. Behind me I could hear gentle footsteps approach me.

"Ripley?" A voice called behind me. I turned around and there was Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, and Evan all walking towards me.

"It's time to go." Scott said. I looked at my new group of friends with a deeply saddened expression.

"He's gone." I said. I sighed again before looking at the tombstone again. "He's really gone." Scott walked up behind me and knelt down to my level, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"I know Rip, I'm sorry." He said. I turned around to face him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, crying silently. Scott held me close and knelt on the ground with me as everyone else walked up to us and joined in a large group hug, first Jean, then Kurt, then Kitty, and finally Evan. In this moment, when I felt so happy to be surrounded by such wonderful friends who helped me through this stressful and emotional ordeal, I finally realized that I was going to be alright. I sighed peacefully and opened my eyes at everyone around me.

"I love you guys so much." I said.

"We love you too Ripley." Everyone else said. After a while the group had finished hugging, we all began walking out of the cemetery, Scott had his arm over my shoulder and was leading me out. After a few steps I stopped walking before giving a final glance at Kyle's gravestone.

"Ripley." Scott said. I looked at my friends who were giving me deep and gentle looks. "Let's go home." I closed my eyes and nodded my head before we continued out of the cemetery to go home.

**Kyle Bodine Daniels: October 13, 1994 - January 14, 2012**

_**"Loved, Lost, and Found Again."**_

**End of Chapter 27**


	28. Chapter 28

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 28: The Ripple meets the Speed**

**Bayville High (Ripley's P.O.V.)**

"31... 32... 33... 34..." I counted as I pulled myself up on a pull up bar in a workout room near the gym. "And una mas es 35." I let go of the bar and landed on the tile floor before stretching a bit and watching the other guys finish their opening exercises. It was kind of a cruel irony considering that weeks ago I was in the same spot as them; waiting for the lesser ones, or for them the one (me), to finish their exercises or give up under pressure. This irony was an ecstacy, and a conundrum at the same time because I would have enjoyed having an exercise partner before my powers, but never got one. And seeing others in the same situation made me feel kind of guilty. Some of them reminded me of Evan. He had been coming to Bayville High for about a week, and Coach McCoy already adored him for his basketball skills, not that I blame him. Evan was fantastic at getting a basket, although I noticed that he had been kind of sloppy, mostly because his thoughts of vengeance. I didn't pry into his mind, but I could feel his vengeful intent just by looking at him, and it was screaming out at the top of his brain. I snapped out of my thoughts and saw a guy struggling to get a pull-up, so I walked over to the guy, Jordan Harrison I think his name was, to help.

"Hey Jordan is it?" I said. The boy turned his head to face me. "Would you like some help?"

"No thanks, I'm fine... on... my own." He said in a strenuous voice as he tried to pull himself past the bar, but lost his grip and fell on his butt. I shook my head and laughed quietly as I helped him up.

"Dude, seriously. If you keep going like this you'll either give yourself an aneurysm or shit yourself, or maybe both if you're lucky." I said wrapping my arms around his legs and picking him up. "Alright, you pull, I lift, only twenty more to go, okay?" I said. Jordan nodded his head and grasped the bar firmly. "Okay, ready? Go." I lifted Jordan and he was not so surprisingly light, but it seemed to me that he was doing most of the work himself. It turns out that he just he needed some physical and psychological support to get himself going and he was going a lot by himself, even with my assistance. Behind us Duncan Mathews was looking at us with a sly smirk on his face.

"Hey Davey, enjoying the male to male contact?" He called out.

"Not as much as you did last week Mathews. You want some more after school some time, just come around and we'll pound a few extra pounds off each other's asses. Hint-hint, wink-wink, smoochie-smoochie." I said winking at him. Some of the other guys laughed at my comment while Duncan grew a large frown on his face. After a few seconds, Jordan had finished his required pull-ups for the morning and we were ready for the rest of the period when Coach McCoy approached us.

"Hit the showers Ripley, Principal Darkholme needs to see you." He said. I raised a brow and shrugged a bit.

"Okay. Tell her I'm on my way and she'll see me soon." I said wiping my brow. "See you later boys." I walked towards the locker room before a voice spoke up.

"Hey Ripley?" Jordan said. I turned to face him.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Thanks for the help." I smiled and nodded my head.

"No problem. Keep working on those arms and you'll be pull up champion yet." I said walking down to the locker rooms to shower and dress myself.

**Later**

After taking a nice hot shower, getting dressed, and getting the hell out of the loathsome locker room, I was walking through the halls and listening to music with a new iPhone and dancing to it as I walked. It had been a couple days after Kyle's funeral and I felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders afterwards. I was sad of course, but after that I had been kind of happy, I was spending a lot though, mostly on the repairs to my room and clothing, some labeled for girls that I couldn't wear because of my vanity and my previous depressive submissive apparel. Today I was wearing a brand-new pair of nearly knee high shoes with a pair of thigh high black and red striped socks, a long sleeved black sweatshirt exposing the top of my back, a pair of new skinny jeans, and a pair of black and white sneakers. I also was more uplifting and conscious to others and had even gotten a few new friends in the school, and it looked like I had gotten Jordan in my little fold. I was also trying out for new things, like a couple of the clubs and I was even considering joining a sports team or something. As I was walking through the halls I accidentally bumped into someone and nearly knocked her down.

"Whoops! Sorry, are you alright?" I said looking to see who it was and was surprized to see that it was Rogue.

"Yeah, just watch where you're goin' next tahme." She said in a grumpy tone. I sneered at her attitude and scoffed.

"Well, I'm happy that you're alright. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed at the principal's office." I said putting an ear bud in my ear.

"Ah'm actually headed down there mahself." She said. I bowed forward and pointed my arms in the direction of where the office would be.

"Well milady, after you." I said with a smile. Rogue rolled her eyes at me and walked in the direction where my arms were pointed. When she was in front of me my smile quickly vanished into a frown as I stuck out my tongue at her.

_"Milday Stick-up-her-ass." _I thought as I followed her. This is how it was with us whenever we met with each other, she would attack me with a nasty attitude and against my better half she infected me with it like a horrible virus and it would leave feeling nasty and tense towards each other. We walked through the halls, trying not to talk to each other, although we gave each other a few awkward glances, but turned our heads the opposite direction when we did. After this horrible and awkward little stroll through the halls we finally made it to the office, but to my horror the Brotherhood boys were there.

"Well, well, look who's here, yo." Toad said chuckling. "What'd you do Rip?"

"Nothing Tolensky, and if I did, or didn't, it wouldn't concern you at all." I said finding a seat far from the boys.

"He's probably in trouble for bein' so gay." Fred said laughing.

"And maybe, Fred, you're in trouble for making sumo wrestlers in Japan look anorexic and blow their careers, again." I said pulling out a book from my bag. Lance and Todd laughed under their breath while Fred's face turned red. He would have gotten overly aggressive in the past, but he would instead growl before playing with a paddleball vigorously, so far I'd say the therapy was working, now if only he could stop behaving like his ginormous ass. Rogue sighed and pulled out a book from her backpack. From what I heard, all these guys were living together because apparently there's a new boarding house for kids down the road that just opened thanks to Mystique. This rowdy bunch formed a team called the Brotherhood, kind of a bland and crappy cliché name to call a team, but you know what? They're trying hard at their own speed, what can you do? So far, Lance Alvers: Avalanche, Fred Dukes: The Blob, and Todd Tolensky: The Toad were the only official members living under that roof, but I wasn't sure if Rogue was living with them and I prayed to god that she wasn't. I looked over at Rogue and saw what she was reading and would have commented on her excellent choice of reading (and hopefully make good conversation), but a sudden chill went down my back. It felt like someone had taken a cold metal stick and was rubbing it down my spine, and it wouldn't go away. It made me very uncomfortable and I felt that something, or someone, was near, someone I never felt before, but I couldn't tell where or who they were. And determining by the discomforting feeling I was getting, his or her intentions were not good.

**Meanwhile (Darkholme's office) (Normal POV)**

"I am honored that you came." Principal Darkholme said.

"I'm not here for your little student body meeting Mystique." A mysterious cloaked figure said lifting a hand. On Darkholme's desk, a holographic image of a young man with white hair and a light blue and white jumpsuit. "Behold."

"Ah, so this is the speed demon I've been hearing about." Darkholme said holding her hands and staring at the hologram.

"Pietro Maximoff. He is of...particular interest to me." The man said. "I have waited for just the right moment to approach this young man. And now is the time."

"Then we shall extend the hand of friendship to the boy." Darkholme said standing up.

"It will not be that easy. He believes that he needs no one, however there may be a way." The figure waved his hand again and another holographic image of an African-American young man with blonde hair. "Pietro has had a long grudging rivalry with Evan Daniels."

"The new student Xavier enrolled here last week." Darkholme said.

"Yes, Pietro has recently taken advantage of the competition, and I believe Mr. Daniels would like to 'settle the score'." Darkholme smiled and sat down with an inquisitive expression on her face.

"And I know just how to get them together." She said. The holograms disappeared and the figure stepped out of the dark.

"Another pressing matter." He said as one more hologram appeared. This time it was a black haired young man in a black outfit with a long cloak. Darkholme's face turned rather timid.

"Ah yes, young Ripley." She said.

"Mr. Davidson is still a vital part of our plans, and we were unfortunate that Xavier got to him before us. However his current emotional state could provide us an advantage."

"Maybe, but he's become rather attached to the X-Men. I hardly doubt he'll want to betray them. Apparently Ripley recently had a funeral for his lover and Xavier paid for the services in full."

"All the more reason we need him. If we don't have Ripley, our plans are doomed. If we could just find ways to bring discord to his friendship. "

"Stir things in the pot to get him to come to us. I like it." Darkholme said smiling sinisterly.

"Good, now I believe you have students waiting for you." The figure said disappearing into the dark. Darkholme smiled as she pushed a button on her desk.

"Send Mr. Davidson in please." She said into the speaker. After a couple minutes, Ripley Davidson walked into the office.

**(Ripley's POV)**

When I walked into Darkholme's office, I could almost feel the cold presence in the room, but suddenly just leave.

"Hello Principal Darkholme, you...wanted to see me?" I said.

"Yes, Mr. Ripley. Have a seat, please." Darkholme said. I walked to the chair in front of Darkholme's desk and sat down. I twiddled my thumbs for a while before I spoke.

"So what is it you wanted to discuss?" I asked.

"I wanted to just talk." Darkholme said sitting down. "How are you Ripley?"

"I feel good, a bit happier. Well, I'm not exactly sure I'm close to a hundred percent happy, I'm not sure if I'll ever get there, but I'll just have to strive for what I can muster." I said.

"Where you say you were at right now percent wise?" Darkholme asked. I put a hand on my chin and leaned back in the chair.

"I guess... thirty-five percent? Thirty-nine? Maybe forty? It varies sometimes with some days, but I suppose it's like that with everyone, am I right ma'am?" I said.

"I suppose." Darkholme said.

"So I guess that makes me more like other people than I thought, huh? Yay a breakthrough!" I said sarcastically waving my hands in the air with fake excitement. Darkholme smiled and chuckled under her breath, which really made me nervous. "If there isn't anything else, can I go?"

"Yes, but I just want you to know you that if you ever need to talk, my office door is wide open for us to converse." Darkholme said. I scoffed under my breath and hoped she didn't hear me.

_"Where was this sense of conviction before?" _I thought standing up and thanking Darkholme for her time.

"I'll consider your offer Ms. Darkholme and maybe you'll see me later." I said walking out of her office. Behind me she grew a sinister smile.

"Oh yes you will." She said chuckling darkly. I turned around to face her because I could have sworn she said something.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"What?"

"Did you say something ma'am?" I said.

"No. You should hurry and get back to class, I don't want to take any more of your time than I already have. And send Mr. Dukes in on your way out." I shrugged my shoulders and walked out of her office.

**Later**

After a blistering day of school, I was dying for some off time in the mansion's workout room, strangely just going to gym class wasn't doing it for me, especially with all the extra energy going through my body after my powers emerged. I put in one of my ear buds from my iPhone and turned on a selection of music before running around behind the outside of the school gym. I looked around to make sure no one was looking at me and I smiled brightly at the absence of people, because I could finally get off the ground without someone noticing me and I really wanted to start flying again. I propelled myself quickly off the ground and went up high in the sky out of eye range. I smiled and giggled to myself as I did a few somersaults in the air, which made me go higher and higher in the sky. I kept on going farther up until I began to feel heavy. I stayed in the air for a moment with my eyes closed and my arms open to the cool damp air. I then allowed myself to drop down head first towards the ground with my eyes still closed. After a few seconds of the air rushing past my face, I opened my eyes and saw the ground coming into view quickly. I quickly teleported away and found myself dropping up into the sky from the grounds of the Xavier Institute just as Scott drove up onto the grounds with Jean, Evan, Kitty, and Kurt, causing him to stop suddenly and hit his horn twice rapidly. I did a little twirl in the air before slowly floating back down to the ground. Scott opened his car door and walked angrily to me.

"Jesus Christ, Ripley are you trying to get killed?!" Scott yelled.

"Oh, hey Scott, hey guys, where'd you come from?" I said.

"Where did we come from? You appeared right out of nowhere and in the path of my car, where did you come from?" Scott shouted in my face.

_"Eeeeuuuuu..." _I thought.

"From the skies. I needed to fly around a bit and I dropped and reappeared to what I was trying to be near the gate, but the image of the mansion was just so fresh in my mind I just had to make an appearance here and you all were a very lovely audience, thank you." I said bowing and smiling. Everyone looked surprised at how I was acting, and even I felt a little surprised at my behavior, but I quickly went back into a carefree mood. "Now if you would excuse me, I have some energy to burn." I blew a kiss at everyone before teleporting away and left everyone confounded. Jean walked up behind Scott with a worried expression on her face.

**(Normal POV)**

"Is it just me, or has Ripley been acting kind of funny?" She said.

"I wouldn't say it's funny." Scott said flatly and walking back to his car with Jean behind him. "He could have gotten splattered, he knew that, but he just didn't seem to care at all."

"I know, but maybe this is just how he's coping with Kyle's death, he's just trying not to care." Jean said.

"Well, he'd better start caring for himself at least. I don't want to see him get killed or have me be the one that kills him." Scott said sighing. Jean wrapped her arms around Scott's back and held him close.

"What's wrong Scott?" Jean asked.

"It's just that I've lost so much already. My parents, my brother, I almost lost you to Blob, and I tried so hard to help Ripley, but with all the crap he's been through and how reckless he's being lately I nearly lost a friend a lot more times than I can count." He said. "I can't lose any more people Jean."

"I know, and you won't. Why don't we go out tonight, to take your mind off things." Jean said, holding her new boyfriend tightly.

"That sounds great." Scott said, holding Jean's hands in his own. Everyone else who was in the car got sick of waiting for Scott to come back to his car and drive the rest of the way to the front of the mansion so one by one they walked out of the car, except for Evan who practically jumped out of the car and bumped Kitty.

"Hey Evan, like, watch it!" Kitty said irritably

"Yeah man, where's the fire?" Kurt said.

"I don't wanna be late for the session in the Danger Room. Come on let's go." Evan said hopping on his skateboard and rolling to the front door.

"Evan's kind of, like, on the warpath or something." Kitty said.

"Yeah, he's been doing Danger Room drills nonstop lately. I think he's up to something."

**Later (Ripley's POV)**

I was in the workout room lifting some free weights on my back and feeling a bit of muscle mass growing when I heard someone walk in.

"Whoa, like, look at you." Kitty's voice said. I smiled before setting the dumbell down on its rest.

"Hi." I said as I took my towel and wiped the sweat off my head. "What's up Kat?"

"Professor wants us down on the Danger Room. Wolverine and Scott are running, like, a special exercise or something." Kitty said.

"Sweet, I'll be there in a few." I said, teleporting away to my room to get my uniform.

**Danger Room **

Everyone was in the Danger Room practicing our abilities in various simulations and exercises like normal, but it seemed like we were all mostly focusing on Evan. The Danger Room had a really long track going in all directions, which made me feel dizzy just looking at it. The guy was going completely nutso on the training with his skateboard and after all the hours we put into him and the constant movement I thought he would have cracked like an egg by now. But I guess athletes push themselves like that all the time. Evan went four whole rounds already and I thought he was going to give in by then, but I sensed he wanted more.

"This is your fifth run, Spyke. You wanna take a break?" Cyclops asked. Evan, or Spyke, gave a few tired breaths before standing up straight.

"No time for breaks man. You got me in here to train, so that's what I'm gonna do. So let's train." He said. Below the platforms, Wolverine gave a light chuckle and a little smile.

"You heard the man, let's go." He said. Spyke grabbed his skateboard and took off down the track for a couple minutes before Jean levitated a bunch of large cannonballs and flung them right at him. Spyke dodged some of the balls and shot some of his spikes at the others, which shattered them. He was coming towards me and I gathered some of my flames in a circle in my hands and shaped them into large rotating blue sawblades.

_"Destructo Disc, eat your heart out." _I thought as I flung the flames at Spyke, which he jumped over and continued down the track. Cyclops then began shooting his optic blasts at random points in the track to distract Spyke before landing a good blow at his skateboard, knocking him off and making him crash and tumble on the floor. Wolverine walked up to the kid and held out a hand.

"Not too shabby Porcupine." He said with a half smile. Spyke took his hand and stood up before I flew behind him and put an arm over his shoulder.

"You rocked on that skateboard! Think you teach me a few moves?" I said.

"Uh... sorry, but skateboarding is my thing." He said. I scoffed and rolled my eyes at the younger boy.

"Pfft, says who?" I said chuckling and letting the kid go. Spyke smiled at me before the intercom went off.

"Hey Spyke!" Kitty's voice rang on the intercom. "Coach just called, says you gotta come to the gym and you've got a game tonight."

"Really? Cool, you didn't tell us there you were playing tonight." I said.

"There wasn't a game on the schedule." Spyke said, removing his helmet.

"Well, there is now. Coach said that Principal Darkholme, like, put it together last minute. "Kitty said. "He said he wants you suited up in, like, one hour because you're starting against P.S. 104." I heard that team was Evan's previous school's basketball team, and I would have thought him to be excited, but he looked kind of lost for words until a thought hit me. He was like this when he got here because someone framed him for trashing the lockers in the halls, and seeing him the way he was then new meant the guy who wronged him was coming. Nightcrawler suddenly appeared before us with a thumbs up.

"Dude, all right! You get to go up against your Alma Mater!" He said. Scott and Jean looked at each other and I at them. We all knew someone from that other school had something to do with Evan's lock up and we all knew he wanted revenge. By the way he was acting, someone on that team was the one who had wronged him.

"Yeah." Spyke said kind of blankly and walking away.

"Scott." Jean said.

"I know, the guy who framed Evan is probably on that team." Cyclops said.

"And now is the perfect time for Evan to convey some revenge." I said holding my chin thoughtfully. "How unexpected and so... convenient."

"Yeah, but we'll worry about convenience later. Come on guys, we better make sure he doesn't get hurt." Cyclops said.

"Who, the framer or the framee?" I said.

"Hopefully neither." Jean said.

"Well, we'd better get there quickly then." I said holding out my hand. "Come on you two, we're going for a little ride."

**Later (Normal POV)**

Outside of the high school, a bus was parked and waited as one by one of the young athletes inside began to walk out. Evan was standing right in front of the bus waiting for the last one to come out. The last one to come out of the bus was a slender white haired boy with a little smirk on his face and a horrible looking complexion.

"Hey Maximoff!" Evan shouted.

"Well, well, look who's out of jail." The white haired boy said. "Don't tell me, this miserable dump is part of your punishment."

"We've got a score to settle Pietro." Evan said trying to grab him, but he ran right behind him, with a little gust of wind as he ran, and pushed him down.

"Sorry, but you're too slow." Pietro said. "Good props for the attitude. Might be helpful to you after all Daniels." Suddenly a trio consisting of a red haired girl, a black haired boy, and a brown haired guy with deep red shades appeared behind him.

"Is there a problem here?" Scott Summers asked, grabbing Pietro's shoulder.

**(Ripley's POV)**

"If there is, we'd be happy to help relieve the problem." I said.

"Nothing I can't handle." Evan said.

"Is this the guy who was stealing from the lockers?" Jean asked.

"Stay out of this." Evan said.

"Is that true?" Scott said.

"Actually..." Pietro said, quickly moving Cyclops' hand off his shoulder. "Yeah I trashed those lockers. Why? What are you gonna do about it?" This guy, Pietro, really seemed really interesting to me. His name Pietro for one was not one I've heard before. It sounded French or Italian to me, something from Europe maybe. I had also never seen a boy with hair of this color before, I couldn't tell if it was platinum blonde, or white, or whatever. It was just... white. And the speed I've seen was impressive, completely inhuman, which made me think that maybe he was a mutant like everyone else around him at the moment. What aggravated me was that he obviously knew he was different, but he took advantage of his divergence and used it to gain things that don't belong to him.

"Well, we were thinking torture, but then we thought 'nah, too George Bush'."I said.

"Look, I think you'd better just come with us..." Scott said before Pietro grabbed him, spun him around, and tossed him to the ground.

"Hey!" I said tackling the white haired boy, but he evaded me with ease and made me crash to the ground next to Scott.

"Yeah... I don't think so." Pietro said.

"That's it Pietro! You're going down for good this time!" Evan shouted as he charged Pietro, but like the other times he just dodged quickly than anyone could see.

"Ooh, sounds like a challenge." Pietro said putting a cupped hand to his ear and pointing it at Evan on the ground."Come on Daniels, let's see what you got." Pietro suddenly ran away at a such a breakneck speed right past the three of us that he looked like a white blur in the air. Evan angrily tore open his backpack and pulled out his uniform and helmet.

"Trust me man, you're gonna find out!" Evan shouted as he rolled away on his skateboard in the speedster's direction.

"Man that guy is fast." Scott said standing up and helping me on my feet.

"In physical speed maybe, though his patience and IQ seem a bit sluggish." I said.

"Either way, we can't let Evan do this alone." Jean said.

"When you're with the X-Men, you're never alone." I said looking to Scott who smiled and nodded at me.

"Let's go!" Scott shouted. The three of us went to three seperate areas to change into our uniforms before Jean and I flew out with Cyclops levitating next to us. We flew out through the city, following the trails of mass destruction before I spot Evan, or Spyke, in his uniform fighting Pietro, who was wearing a uniform of his own with blue and white electric designs over it. He was also standing over Spyke, who looked hurt and exhausted.

"Face it Daniels, I'm just too fast for you." He said.

"Hey, why don't you pick on somebody relatively your own size, Speedo?" I said, swooping in and nearly landed a punch on Pietro if he didn't dodge my blow and ran behind me.

"Sounds like a challenge. Alright, show me what you got." He said. I kept on sending a few punches his way, but they didn't deliver and he kept dodging me."And it's Quicksilver to you, princess." He then tried to lay a few punches on me, but I just floated above him.

"I may be a princess, but I'm a fairy princess at that. And you know the best part of being a fairy? You get to avoid punches from assholes in the sky." I said, avoiding another punch after another.

"Hey! Come down here and fight like a man!" Quicksilver said loudly.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to come up here and fight like a mutant. By the way, cute outfit, does it come in men's sizes?" I said with a smirk. Quicksilver huffed in annoyance before rotating his arms super fast, creating twin vortexes that blasted me away into a building.

"It's man enough to kick your ass slow poke!" He shouted to me before laughing.

"Ow." I squealed as I shook my head to try and relieve some pain before I walked to hole I made with my body. I marveled at its size before looking to my body.

_"Am I really that fat?"_ I thought. I then looked down at the other X-Men regrouping on the street and flew a few feet ahead of them to get to Spyke. I flew right next to Spyke and helped him back to his feet.

"You okay cutie?" I said.

"Yeah, thanks." He said. Quicksilver suddenly appeared behind me and pushed us both down to the ground.

"Well, ya won't be for long. Say bye-bye to Bayville kiddies." Quicksilver said, running off and creating powerful winds that flipped parked cars over.

"We have to stop him!" Jean said.

"I tried, he's just too fast!" Evan said, removing his helmet and tossing it on the ground angrily. "I thought you said all that training crap would help!"

"Training is a part of it Spyke. Working as a team is a bigger part of it." Cyclops said.

"Wha-Hoo!" Quicksilver shouted out as he ran right by us. "See ya later!"

"Jean, Ripley, he can't run if his feet aren't touching the ground." Cyclops shouted over the wind.

"On it." Jean said looking to me.

"Right." I said. We both held our temples and concentrated on the speedster. He kept on running off with a smile and a laugh until he began to levitate off the ground.

"Hey, what's going on?!" He shouted before turning upside-down.

"He's not going anywhere, we got him." I said. Quicksilver began to spin around at a very high speed until I felt Jean's and my hold on the miscreant began to wean.

"Can't hold him." Jean said weakly.

"Hold onto this baby, it's twister time!" Quicksilver shouted as a giant cyclone began to form and create powerful winds that began to blow a lot of debris towards us. I put up a field in front of us to protect us from the various objects in the winds, but it wasn't holding off all of it and I could feel that my shield wouldn't hold for long.

"Guys, if you have a plan, better execute it now!" I said.

"Right. Spyke, lock and load!" Scott said. Spyke nodded before he unsheathed a barrage of spikes from his arm. "Ripley, when I give the word, drop the field." I nodded before Cyclops aimed his visor at the center of the tornado and opened his visor. "Now!" I dropped the shield and Cyclops' optic blasts burst out his visor and struck the twister head on, causing it to slow down until Quicksilver was visible. Once he was visible enough, he was forcefully pushed back into a wall and landed on the sidewalk with a thud. Spyke walked closer to him and shot his spikes at various points in his outfit, making him stand up, flinch, and squeal. He struggled to get free of the spikes, but all he could move was his head.

"I can't get loose! I can't get loose!" Quicksilver shouted.

"Not so fast now, are you Quicksilver." Spyke said. Quicksilver sighed in defeat before smirking at Spyke.

"Yeah, but what good is it gonna do you Daniels? You still can't prove I did anything to get you into trouble, can ya?"

"Ooh, sounds like a challenge. Good thing I stopped at RadioShack and picked this up." Spyke said, pulling out a tape recorder from his pocket. "And I've got you confessing to the crime right here." Evan pressed the play button and the tape began to roll.

_"Actually... yeah, I trashed those lockers. So? What are you gonna do about it?" _The recording played.

"Good shot dude." Scott said, putting a hand on his shoulder in congratulations. "Looks like all that training paid off after all."

"Yeah, you were totally awesome." I said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Suddenly, sirens began to sound and advance closer and closer to us."Let's get out of here, his ass is grass." I looked at Quicksilver and sticking my tongue at him. He growled at me before everyone touched hands and I ported us out of there and back to the mansion.

**Later **

"What do you mean he's out of jail?!" Evan shouted. We just got the news from the older X-Men and Xavier that someone had posted a bail for Pietro and he was released almost immediately after the police detained him.

"He was placed on bail for his actions, presumably because he is a minor." Xavier said.

"But that's bullcrap! I caught him, and he just gets to go free? That's not fair!"

"Calm yourself Evan. Pietro was placed on parole. If he breaks it he will be right back in where he's supposed to be." Ororo said.

"And in the meantime, he walks free like nothing happened." Evan said, plopping down onto the sofa. I sat down next to him.

"Hey." I said, putting an arm around the younger boy. "He's not walking free, think about it. He's got some guy breathing down his back twenty-four seven for weeks. And I'm sure he wants to keep his powers a secret for the thrill of being anonymous and thinking he can get away if no one knows it's him. He's pretty much got. It's not what you quite wanted exactly, but he's not as free as one would think. You got the bastard, kid. You won."

"Yeah, I guess so." Evan said, smiling a bit.

**The Next Day **

"Look out!" I said as Kurt and I appeared above the pool.

"Double cannonball!" Kurt shouted before we both hit the pool, making a huge splash and making Scott and Jean laugh. Kurt and I emerged from underneath the water and gave each other a high-five before looking to Kitty, who was trying to get back onto her float.

"Kurt, Ripley, knock it off!" She shouted.

"Sorry Kitty, but come on, it's a pool. One we all share. Can't we all share a little bit of fun for the love of love?" I said.

"Yeah, listen to the man" Kurt said, putting an arm over my shoulder. "Relax."

"I was until you guys, like, totally harshed my mellow." Kitty replied. Kurt and I looked at each other with a derpy look before smiling at Kitty.

"Huh, oops." We both said. The next day after the events with Pietro, we all decided to celebrate on Evan's victory with a little pool party, which gave me a chance to kick out my new bathing suit. It was a regular pair of swim trunks with a black and white wave design on them and a Keychain with a silver "R" attached to the lacings. Everyone was enjoying themselves tremendously before Kitty looked at the water and saw that there were a lot of tiny blue hairs floating in it.

"Ew... Professor! Kurt's, like, totally getting fur in the pool!" Kitty groaned.

"I am not!" Kurt replied. I felt a bit of negative energy surrounding the pool, and I knew I had to do something to relieve it. I smiled before diving under Kurt and lifting him up from under my shoulders. "Whoa, Ripley what are you doing?"

"Chicken fights anyone?" I said. Scott and Jean looked at each other before nodding. Scott dived under Jean and lifted her above his shoulders before walking to us.

"Aren't chicken fights illegal?" Kurt asked.

"Wrong kind of chicken fight Kurt. In this kind of fight, you have at least four people, two of them stacked on the other two's shoulders and the basic point of the game is to grab each other by the hands and try to knock the other off the other's shoulders."

"Hmm, sounds like fun. Let's do it!" Kurt said, lowering down a hand to me for a high-five. I received the high-five before looking at Scott with a competitive smile.

"You're going down Ripley." Scott said.

"We shall see Slim." I said, looking up at Kurt. "Ready Kurt?"

"Yah." Kurt said as I positioned us to face Scott and Jean.

"I'll try not to push too hard freulein." Kurt said to Jean.

"Neither will I." Jean said with that smile of hers.

"No survivors, do or die. Go!" I said. Kurt and Jean grabbed at each other's hands and began pulling and pushing at each other while Scott and I tried to keep balance. A few times Kurt just about got knocked over and I nearly lost balance for the pushing. It turns out that Jean was pretty strong for a girl with skinny wrists. After a while I could see Kurt gaining the upper hand. Because he had three nimble fingers on each hand, it gave him a slight advantage over Jean, and that advantage was making the power couple slip up.

"How are you doing up there Red?" I asked Jean.

"Don't distract me or I'm calling a foul." She said.

"What? There are no fouls in chicken fights." I said, smirking at my little pun. "Get it? Foul? Chicken fight?" We all laughed at my pun and the fun game that was going on before we saw Evan quickly approaching the pool.

"Hey, check this out!" Evan called out. We all looked to him as he jumped high into the air and quickly descended towards the water for a cannonball, but his spikes accidentally unsheathed themselves when he got close to the water's surface. "Uh oh." When he hit the water, he had also accidentally landed on Kitty's floater pad and caused it to explode. Powerful waves of water exploded in all directions, making me lift a few feet off the floor of the pool and accidentally drop Kurt into the pool.

"Yes!" Scott and Jean said, giving each other high-fives. Kurt surfaced from the pool and coughed a little before looking at Scott and Jean.

"That doesn't count!" Kurt said.

"The rules don't say anything about tsunamis Kurt." Scott said. "Or sore losers."

"Aw man." I said. "Best two out of three?" I heard Kitty coughing and looked over to where she and Evan were. Kitty was coughing a little bit before she looked angrily at Spyke, who chuckled nervously at his little boo-boo. We all sighed and shook our heads at the ruined floater pad.

_"Yeah, this kid is definitely an X-Man." _I thought.

**End of Chapter 28 **


	29. Chapter 29

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 29: Caught in the Middle**

It was an average school day and an average lunch hour, well just about as normal as things could be with the X-Men. We were all sitting at our table talking about this and that, and Evan was drinking so much milk at once I thought he was going to puke. I think he was trying to gain more bone size or something to improve his athletic prowess, or make his bone spikes look more healthier on the outside. Jean then told us about a little party Duncan was throwing at his house, and apparently he was trying to talk Jean and Scott to make peace with them, and Jean was trying to get all of us to go, even though she and Scott were officially dating now and Duncan was Scott's longtime rival of her affections. But quite frankly I wasn't about it at all, especially because Duncan didn't come to me, and not very surprising, Scott wasn't sure about it either.

"Go to Duncan Matthews' party?" He said. "I don't think so."

"You gonna finish that moo juice?" Evan said pointing to Scott's milk carton. Jean handed her milk carton to Evan.

"You can have mine. Come on Scott, it'll be fun." Jean said.

"I bet it would, but you can't not say Mathews is a jerk Jean." I said.

"No he's not. I'd go." Kitty said

"Oh yeah? How about if he said 'no freshmen allowed.'?" I said with a sarcastic smile. Kitty got a disappointed and frustrated look on her face.

"Oh, Matthews is a jerk." She said crossing her arms angrily.

"Besides, you know how he feels about us, and us." Scott said waving a hand between himself and Jean.

"And remember? He broke your heart to pieces girl." I said.

"And also half of the whole school will be there. Suppose if someone gets too close to Kurt? That holowatch won't protect them from feeling his fur." Scott said. Kurt looked at Scott with a little frown.

"Hey, chicks dig the fuzzy dude!" Kurt said looking at Kitty suggestively. "Right?"

"I'm, like, so out of here." She said gathering her stuff hurriedly. "Later." Kurt smiled at Kitty's reaction and I could tell by his goofy smile he was obviously taking it another way.

"Oh yeah, she can't resist." He said. Scott's face suddenly went like Kocoum from Pocahontas right after Kurt's comment.

"Look, I'm trying to be serious here. Suppose we go to Mathews' party, and Dukes and Maximoff try something." He said pointing out the two bad boy mutants, I still can't believe that bastard speedster was enrolled at this school. Sometimes I thought Principal Darkholme's sense of merciful guidance was a real pain in the ass, especially with these ruffians. "We're not the only mutants in school you know."

"Yeah, just the cool ones." Evan said holding a couple hands up for Kurt and me to high-five, which we gladly did.

"Heard that." I said.

"Look Scott, I know Duncan and me split, and I appreciate the concern, but what's wrong with a little socializing?" Jean said.

"I'm sorry, but I just think it's a bad idea." Scott said. Kurt obviously had it with Scott's attitude and he grew that goofy smile on his face again.

"Dude, chill. It's just a party." Kurt said walking on top of the table and beginning to dance. "It's time to shake that tail! Woo-Hoo!" Kurt began dancing like he was at a club or something, and I was kind of getting into it.

"Go Kurt! Go Kurt! Go Kurt!" I shouted, whistling and pumping a fist in the air. Kurt didn't see it, but while he was dancing, his tail was waving around in front of Scott's face.

"Hey! Watch the tail!" Scott said as he jerked Kurt off of the table by his tail.

"Ow!" Kurt shouted in pain.

"Now, see? That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Scott said sternly.

"You pulled my tail, man!" Kurt shouted.

"Grow up, Kurt." Scott said.

"Hey, lighten up, dude!" Kurt replied. I felt like someone had to get involved or else somebody would say something he'll regret, but I felt that everyone, like me, was too scared to get yelled at too.

"You're always goofing around!" Scott said.

"And you're seriously cramping my style!" Kurt said.

"Listen." Scott said.

"No, you listen! There's a sound I want you to hear, and it's-"

Kurt suddenly teleported, leaving Scott coughing in a cloud of brimstone and everyone staring at us. Scott looked at the rest of us at the bench and sighed, putting his face in his hand.

"Blew it, didn't I?" He asked.

"Oh yeah." Jean said.

"Totally." Evan said.

"Like a stick of dynamite." I said, standing up. "I'm gonna go try and find him. I'll see you guys later. And Scott?" Scott looked at me. "I kind of agree with you, on account of Duncan Mathews and most of the other mutants here, but I think a little unwinding would do us some good, particularly you." I walked away from the table and began a telepathic scan for Kurt, he was hard to track, but I found his mind in the back of the school grounds, and a nasty smell of brimstone emitting from the basement. I walked quickly to the back of the school near the parking lot to try and catch up with Kurt, when I saw Rogue walking down a flight of stairs. I ducked to the side so she wouldn't see me.

"Who's there?" She called out to the inside of the doors. According to my mental scans, Kurt was where she was headed and I felt like Kurt was in distress. I slowly and carefully followed behind Rogue down the stairs and walked into what looked like a large storage basement.

"Hey." I said, making Rogue turn around. "Where's Kurt?"

"How should Ah know? Ah heard something coming from in here and Ah..." Suddenly she was interrupted by a loud explosion which rocked the both of us, and from two twin doors a blue blur rocketed through them and crashed into a stack of boxes. I coughed a couple times before looking to see what brushed me. I saw that it was Kurt, but his holowatch was turned off, revealing his fuzzy true blue self. Rogue and I walked up to Kurt, who looked like he was kind of hurt.

"Are you okay?" Rogue asked.

"What happened Kurt?" I asked. Kurt opened his eyes groggily and moaned a bit.

"Ugh, lab... booby-trapped." He said.

"Lab?" Rogue said looking at me. I shrugged at her and we both looked at the smoking room on the other side of the doors. While she went to go check it out, I helped Kurt back on his feet. She coughed on the thick layer of dust inside and looked around inside of the now trashed lab.

"Whoa." She said looking around at the ruined computers and monitors inside. "Whatever this stuff was, it's thrashed now."

"Still, be careful in there. We don't know what went on in there or what all that stuff was used for. There could still be something active and very dangerous in there." I called out walking Kurt to the doors. Rogue looked out towards my voice, but then turned her attention to a strange white device with two handles on the side.

"Everything is wrecked, except for this." She said carefully picking it up.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt said as I helped lead him inside the lab.

"Look who's talkin'. At least Ah didn't blow the place up." She said, admiring the weird techno thing she was holding.

"Hey! What did I say about touching stuff?" I said sternly putting a hand on my hip.

"And who said you were in charge here princess?" Rogue sneered. Kurt growled at her comment and jumped at her, grabbing the device by its handles.

"Let go of that!" Kurt said.

"Back off blue boy!" Rogue shouted. "Who says _you're _in charge here?"

"Both of you let go of that before someone gets hurt! Dammit, do you hear the words coming out of my mouth?! I said let go!" I shouted as my eyes began to glow. An invisible wave of energy hit the device, pushing Kurt and Rogue away from each other, but it hit a button or something and a light began to come from the front of the device. I widened my eyes and gasped in fear, because that light looked like it was going to shoot Kurt.

"No no no no no!" I said, running to Kurt and jumping in front of him just as a large bubble of light appeared and enveloped the both of us.

"Vas?!" Kurt said loudly. I looked around at the light and at Rogue, who looked positively terrified at what was happening. I felt a weird tingling sensation as I saw Kurt and myself begin to glow in a brilliant golden glow. Freaking out, I held Kurt in a tight embrace and closed my eyes as we both disappeared from the lab. Rogue gasped and screamed silently at what happened before throwing the device at a wall and running a hand through some sparkling effects that were left over from the blast.

"Oh mah god, they're gone." She said.

**In another Dimension**

After the noises finally settled down, I opened my eyes and looked around at the strange environment I was in. I then looked down to see that I was hugging Kurt before looking around at the environment again. It was white everywhere, like a stream of clouds had dropped right around us, and the building we were in looked very familiar.

"Whoa. Kurt look at this." I said. Kurt opened his eyes and looked around as well.

"What happened?" He said.

"I-I don't know." I said taking a couple steps forward with Kurt following behind me.

"Where are we, the twilight zone?" Kurt said. I looked around and took a few steps forward before I saw my locker through the ominous fog.

"Call me crazy, but I think we're still in the school." I said.

"I was going to say the same thing man. Look." Kurt said. I looked in his direction and saw silhouettes of people walking that quickly turned into actual foggy images of them. Some of them walked right in front of us before disappearing and reappearing someplace else in the halls.

"Man, Scott's gotta lighten up." Evan's voice rang out.

"Yeah, but Kurt's got to know, like, when to quit." Kitty's voice rang next. I turned around and there was an almost completely solid image of Kitty and Evan I could touch.

"Kitty? Wait!" Kurt said trying to touch her shoulder, but his hand went right through her and she didn't even seem to notice it.

"Evan! Can you hear me? Hey Evan!" I tried touching Evan's face, but my hand went right through him as well. The two continued to walk onward and talk, but we couldn't hear what they were saying, except for some of Kitty's laughter.

"No, wait! No!" Kurt shouted.

"Guys we're right here! Stop!" I shouted as the images disappeared. I looked around nervously and walked right next to Kurt. I was panting so much and my mind was racing so fast I couldn't breathe.

"What's happening to us?" Kurt said.

"I wish I knew, otherwise I'd probably not be so freaked." I answered nervously and holding out my arms to him. "Hold me, please?" Kurt raised a brow at me and shrugged before walking up to me and holding me close.

"Let's try teleporting out of here." I said. Kurt nodded his head and with a large poof of smoke and a smell of brimstone we were elsewhere in the school, but everything still looked wonky.

"Oh man." Kurt said.

"Here, I'll try." I said. With a whoosh of wind the both of us were once again elsewhere in the school, but things still looked like Silent Hill on crack which disconcerted me a lot more.

"Maybe there's a limit before we can port out of here." Kurt said.

"Sounds farfetched, but I'll take it." I said as Kurt teleported us away somewhere else.

**Regular Dimension **

**(Author's P.O.V.) **

Rogue was exiting the basement with the gizmo, that was hanging on the pole of a broom because she didn't know what else it could do, and frankly she didn't want to know. She carried the device to a dumpster to throw it away and hopefully never see it again. She tried to put it in the trashcan, but it slipped off the broom.

"Ah!" Rogue screamed covering herself from the device, hoping she wouldn't he its next victim. The device instead slid across the grass and stoped right in front Toad.

"Oooh, what's this?" He said reaching for the device.

"Don't touch that!" Rogue shouted.

"Why?"

"It's..." Rogue began, but scoffed and picked up the machine with the broom handle again. "Never you mind, just leave it alone."

"What's the matter, little girl get herself in trouble?" Toad said.

"Trouble? No, but let's just say that there's two less X-Men around." Rogue said, tossing the device in the dumpster. Toad widened his eyes in surprise.

"What? You mean you toasted two of those goody little two shoes with that thing?" Toad said excitedly looking at the machine.

"Hey, just leave it alone, got it?!" Rogue said, sternly pointing at him.

"Jeez, what is this, 'Abuse the Toad day'?" Toad said in annoyance. A few minutes before he was nearly ran over by Principal Darkholme trying to get a big juicy looking bug for a snack, and she didn't even apologize. And then she berated him and told him off with a threat of detention for months, today was obviously off to a bad start for the young man. He eyed the device and reached inside for it. Toad looked all over the device to find out how to make it work, wiggling it a bit to try to get something out of it. He then noticed some buttons where the handles meet the center and pushed one of them. The machine made a loud strange noise which made Toad jump away into a tree. A light blasted from the machine at the dumpster and a bubble made of light enveloped it before it and the light disappeared completely. Toad widened his eyes in amazement of the display.

"Cool." He said reaching down to the device with his tongue.

**In the School **

"So you think I should apologize to Kurt?" Scott asked Jean.

"You were kind of hard on him." Jean said.

"But I wasn't wrong. You know Kurt plays around too much."

"So? Is being right about that worth losing a friend over?" Scott sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know you mean well Scott, but sometimes you have to just let go."

"Yeah, you're right. I should go find Kurt, Ripley should be with him by now." Right as Scott finished talking, two screams rang from the restroom down the hall and two boys ran out screaming.

"We saw a ghost!" One shouted.

"And a blue hairy demon!" The other shouted. The two boys ran down the halls at a breakneck pace before Scott grew that stern look of his on his face.

"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about." Scott said walking quickly to the restroom with Jean following behind. Scott opened the door to the restroom and looked around.

"Alright Kurt, where are you?" Scott said opening the stalls and looking around the restroom. When he didn't see any signs of Kurt in the restroom , he walked outside to where Jean was.

"Not there?" She asked.

"No. Jean, can you signal him? Tell him to knock it off. And find Ripley, he should have been with him by now." Jean nodded and put her fingers to her temples. She began scanning everywhere on the campus for Kurt and Ripley's minds, everyone else becoming completely invisible to her scan. When she didn't find them anywhere, she went from the school grounds, to the institute, and then to the rest of Bayville.

"Hmm. Scott, I can't find a trace of either of them anywhere. It's like they don't exist." She said.

"That's crazy, they have to be around here somewhere. Are you sure they're not here?" Scott asked as Jean put her fingers on her temples and concentrated on another mental scan.

"They're not anywhere, they're just... gone." She said.

**In the other dimension **

**(Ripley's P.O.V.)**

After teleporting for what seemed like forever, Kurt and I were both beginning to lose hope.

_"God, is there no way out of here?"_ I thought as I was trembling.

"I don't know if I can do this for much longer, I'm getting totally wiped out." Kurt said.

"Me too, let's take a break and gather our thoughts. Maybe then we can figure a way out of here by then." I said sitting down and sighing. After a couple seconds of silence and creepy voices Kurt spoke up.

"So... you think of anything yet Ripley?" He said with a smile. I frowned at Kurt's comment.

"No, I just..." I sighed before taking a deep breath. "No Kurt. I'm scared, my adrenaline is kicking in gear, and I'm totally freaking out. We need time, a lot of time, when we have something, we'll talk about it and then..." My voice trailed off as a bright light appeared above Kurt and a large solid object appeared from it and began to fall. "LOOK OUT!" I shouted as I charged at Kurt and knocked us both to the floor a few feet away from the object. We both looked at the object and saw that it was a dumpster. We both sighed in relief as I helped Kurt up. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No, I'm okay. Thanks for saving my life mein freund." Kurt said.

"Think nothing of it." I said walking over to the dumpster. "Looks like someone's playing around with a new little toy. Think it's Rogue?"

"I don't think so, she probably thinks she killed us or something. I know I wouldn't mess around with something like that if I thought I did, so I'm not sure she would be messing around with it now." Kurt said.

"Hmm, maybe. We should get moving, obviously sitting around is a bad idea with someone walking around with that doo-hickey." I said.

**Regular Dimension **

"Try again, they have to be around here somewhere." Scott said.

"I am, I'm not getting anything." Jean said, placing her fingers on her temples again and shaking her head. "They're just completely gone." Scott looked behind him and saw Lance and Fred walking down the halls towards them.

"Or... somebody did something to them." Scott said.

"What're you looking at Summers?" Lance said.

"Where's Kurt? Where's Ripley?" Scott said.

"Hah, yeah like we'd tell you." Fred said as Lance propped himself against him. Scott glared furiously at the two before running right past Jean.

"Scott, no!" She said. Scott grabbed Lance by the collar and slammed him against the lockers.

"I said, where are they?" Scott growled.

"Get off of me!" Lance said loudly.

"What have you done with them?!"

"Get lost slim!" Fred said, grabbing Scott off of Lance.

"Put him down!" Jean shouted.

"Back off Red or I'll rock ya!" Lance said, clenching his fists and making some of the lockers tremble. Students from around the halls took notice of the action going on and sensing a fight about to commence, they gathered around the four like animals to a waterhole in the Serengeti. Jean's hair began to wave as her power readied an attack for Lance, while he clenched his fingers to prepare an earthquake. Scott in the meanwhile touched his shades to unleash the optic blasts hidden behind them. The students continued to rave for a while before Principal Darkholme penetrated the mob.

"What is going on here?!" She said.

"We weren't doin' nothin'." Fred said, putting Scott back down on the floor.

"Yeah." Lance said. "Summers just went completely nuts on us for no reason."

"Oh I've got a reason." Scott said, trying to charge at the boys again.

"Scott." Jean said, holding her boyfriend back.

"Quiet!" Darkholme shouted. "You two, in my office, now." Scott and Jean moaned under their breaths before walking by the Brotherhood Boys. Lance made an "L" on his forehead, mocking the couple and laughing at their punishment. Hiding behind her open locker door, Rogue stared at the couple moving past her with a look of guilt and inner turmoil.

**Other Dimension **

Kurt and I both teleported for another couple times before we stopped to catch our breaths again.

"Okay, it's really obvious that teleporting is so not working." I said.

"Yeah, man I still can't believe how freaky this is." Kurt said. I pat his back to comfort the frightened blue elf.

"Hey, we'll get out of here somehow. Just keep faith and... uh oh." I said before the familiar light appeared and a desk fell out of it.

"Look out, it's raining furniture!" Kurt said, grabbing me and jumping aside. The desk fell down to the floor and shattered into pieces upon impact.

"Geez, whoever is out there messing around with this thing must really have it out for wooden appliances." I said.

**Regular Dimension **

Toad was in Darkholme's off in his uniform and was aiming the strange device at her furniture, making her desk disappear first.

"Heh heh, you see the desk, you don't see the desk." He mumbled. He pointed the device toward the spinning chair where Darkholme sat at her now missing desk. "You see the chair." He blasted at the chair and it disappeared just as the previous objects did. "You don't see the chair."

_"Alright little miss big shot, let's see how you like my new clean office policy."_ He thought, pointing the device at the large bookshelf and launching the light at it, causing it to vanish like the other objects.

"You two, my office now." Darkholme's voice rang out.

"Uh-oh." Toad said as he leapt out of the window with the device, just as Principal Darkholme walked in with Scott and Jean.

"I don't care what influence Xavier has with the school board, I am going to..." Darkholme said before taking notice of her missing furniture. "What?"

"Whoa." Scott and Jean said.

"What happened here? Who took my furniture?!" Darkholme shouted, running out the door. Scott and Jean looked around before taking notice of the open window. They both walked over to it and saw Toad laughing outside with a strange device that shot a light at Darkholme's car and made it disappear.

"I bet I know what happened to Ripley and Kurt." Scott said.

**Other Dimension **

Because of all the furniture and things that kept appearing above our heads, Kurt and I were running for our very lives.

"When is this rain of random stuff gonna let up?" Kurt said.

"Better to run and hide than getting hit in the face with a bookshelf to find out!" I replied. Suddenly another flash appeared and a car emerged from it.

"Whoa!" Kurt shouted, grabbing me and teleporting away before the car hit the floor.

**Regular Dimension (Darkholme's Office) **

"Scott look!" Jean said. In front of the two teens was a foggy image of Kurt holding Ripley close, the both of them looking frightened and tired.

"It's them." Scott said before the images faded away. "Or their ghosts?"

"No, I got a brief reading from them. It's like their... trapped somewhere." Jean said. Scott looked outside at Toad hopping away into the park nearby.

"I think it's time we have a talk with the Toad." He said.

**Other Dimension **

After Kurt ported us out if the path of the falling car, I opened my eyes to see that we had appeared in the gymnasium's front door. I looked around for any signs of anything else that could fall on us before I grabbed Kurt's hand and slowly led us into the gym. Behind us, I could have sworn I heard footsteps and Kurt was beginning to tremble.

"Please tell me there isn't something behind us." I said. Kurt and I looked behind us and we both nearly jumped out of our skins at the mysterious figure standing in the doorway.

"Agh!" We both shouted as we teleported in opposite directions of the exit. I ducked and covered behind the bleachers while Kurt was perched on a wall. We both heard coughing and a disgusted noise before a young boy with tan skin and dark hair walked in.

"Whoa, where'd you come from?" The boy said. I tilted my head in confusion before jumping over the side of the bleachers and landing in front of him

"We could ask you the same thing." I said, gesturing for Kurt to come down. Kurt jumped off the wall and landed a few feet behind the young man, startling him.

"Agh!" He shouted.

"Relax."

"What are you man?" He said.

"Don't let my looks fool you, I'm a harmless blue fuzzball." Kurt said.

"Really, he is." I said.

"Hey, I know you. You're the one I saw on the computer screen before it blew." Kurt said, walking up to us.

"Yeah, the name's Forge." The boy, now known as Forge said. "So you've found my lab, huh?" Forge looked at Kurt's outfit with a raised brow before looking at me. "What's with the Halloween getups?"

"They're not costumes, we're humans, but we're mutants." I said, rubbing my neck. "Confusing, I know."

"I know I look strange, but..." Kurt said, teleporting and reappearing next to me.

"There are some fringe benefits." I said, putting an arm over Kurt's shoulder.

"Trippy!" Forge said. "I thought I was the only one!" He flexed his right arm and it transformed into a big shiny swiss army knife type of thing with little drills and small mechanical hands. Kurt and I marveled at the crazy looking arm.

**Regular Dimension **

Toad was running for his life, for behind him all of the X-Men were chasing him trying to get an answer as to what happened to their two missing teammates.

"There he goes!" Cyclops shouted. Toad hopped on for a while before Cyclops took a shot at him with his optic blasts. Toad dodged the attack and turning around, took aim at a random target.

"Take that!" He shouted as he fired the device at Shadowcat.

"Shadowcat, get down!" Jean shouted. The young and perky girl gasped as she phased down into the ground, with the beam of light striking a fountain behind her and causing water to burst from the ground.

**Other Dimension **

"Holy crap!" I shouted as a fountain appeared out of no where and crashed onto the floor.

"Man, someone's been giving that gizmo of yours a workout." Kurt said to Forge.

**Regular Dimension **

"Get him!" Cyclops shouted. Shadowcat emerged from the ground and continued the chase alongside her fellow X-Men. Toad kept on hopping away, making nervous sounds and gasping for breath as the team advanced closer and closer to him.

**Other Dimension **

"That 'gizmo' is an interdimensional projector." Forge said, welding something to an old-fashioned CD player. "My science fair project of '78. And when I fired it up it created a pocket dimension that I call the Middleverse. I got caught in the ray myself and I've been here ever since."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. 78? Like the year 1978?!" I said in confusion.

"Uh-huh." Forge said.

"But you look..." Kurt said.

"Like I did then? Yeah, I can't explain it."

_"Hmm, some major immortality seeker fodder this place." _I thought as Kurt leapt down from the table Forge was working on.

"They locked and shut down my lab after the accident, everyone was totally freaked after I disappeared."

"So there's no way back?" Kurt said.

"No, not without help from the other side. And I think you two might be able to help with that, and man I'm so ready to go home." Forge said. "Could I borrow that... thing?"

"Thing?" I said. Forge pointed at my pocket and I looked down to see that he was referring to my phone.

"My cell phone?" I said. "Why?"

"Because I think I think I could use it for my device."

"Why my phone?" I said with a raised brow.

"Dude, just give it to him, we are guests in his little reality you know." Kurt said. I scoffed and rolled my eyes before pulling the phone out of my pocket.

"Alright, alright. Just let me remove the Sim card." I said, pulling out my phone's memory core and handing it to Forge.

"So this is what phones look like now, huh?" Forge said.

"Yeah, pretty cool right?" Kurt said. Suddenly some laughter began to fill the room. Kurt and I looked to where it seemed to be coming from and there there were two girls, seemingly returning from tennis or something, walking right towards us and laughing about some guy. Kurt smiled and fixed his hair before striking a pose for the young girls.

"You're so lucky." One of them said.

"Isn't he cute?" The other replied. I rolled my eyes as Kurt watched the girls disappear behind the closed doors of the girl's locker room.

"So, just how far does this middleverse extend?" Kurt asked.

"Stops just short of the girls locker room, isn't that a burn?" Forge replied, making Kurt sulk like a child.

"Eh." I said walking a few feet before looking out at the boys locker room. "Say uh, what about the guy's locker room?"

"I'm not really sure, why?" Forge asked.

"Well, surely you need to take a leak once in a while, right?" I said walking to the locker room.

"I've never really had to eat, sleep, or use a bathroom since I got here, but I've never gone in to find out. I'm not that adventurous." Forge said.

"Oh good, I am." I said walking over to the locker room door and pushed against it, but it wouldn't budge. I kept pushing hard against the door, hoping it would open up to the sweaty and rippled track team, but to no avail. I kept pushing at the door before stopping and admitting defeat.

_"Dammit!"_ I thought as I kicked the door. Kurt sighed and walked up to me.

"Looks like all locker rooms are where the universe ends, sorry mein pervy freund." Kurt said patting my back.

"Oh shut up, you wanted to do the same thing with the girl's locker room and you know it!" I shouted, making Kurt laugh. "'Mein pervy friend', the nerve." Forge looked really confused at our conversation.

"Um, what's going on?" He said.

"Ripley here is really, really into his fellow men." Kurt said leaning on my shoulder with a smile. I scoffed and stepped away from Kurt and let him fall with a loud "Whoa!" and a thud. I leaned in close to Kurt's ear.

"Kurt, he's from the seventies, people were still trying to get black and white people together in the same room in churches!" I whispered in his ear, making Kurt widen his eyes in spontaneous realization.

"Oh man, me and my big mouth." Kurt said.

"Hey, yo, it's okay. I'm totally down with gay people." Forge said.

"Really?" I said in surprise.

"Yeah, I've done my research and I've come to the conclusion that my time's social bias on a person's sexuality is totally whacked. Pheromones and environment are crucial factors in someone's personality and mental traits, and sometimes those pheromones aim for a certain group of people or makes you feel like a different person, and it's all natural. I mean look at us guys, we're tripping the rip of nature just by being alive." Forge said, holding up his mechanical arm.

"Oh my God, you're officially one of the coolest people ever!" I said as I rushed him in a hug. He laughed as he pat my back.

"Thanks." Forge said as he put a few finishing touches on his device and put his arm away. "Done." I walked next to Kurt to get a full look of the new device.

"What is it?" Kurt asked.

"This little baby should alter the phase-shift frequency of your teleporting powers." Forge said. Kurt and I looked to Kurt with the look that would usually say "Da Fuq?".

"Um... my English is a little limited." Kurt said.

"And I fell asleep in that class a few times." I said.

"One of you can teleport to the real world." Forge said. Kurt and I smiled and gave each other a high-five.

"Yes!" I said.

"Alright!" Kurt said.

"But only for a sec, these batteries don't have that much power." Forge said, putting a couple batteries into the machine. "Still, with luck, you can tell someone to reset the projector to get us back." Kurt grew a bummed out look and put his face in his hands.

"What's up Kurt?" I said.

"You know how everyone thinks I'm always joking, maybe you should try it Ripley."

"Sorry dude, but I think this is on you. If I teleport one more time today, I'm gonna throw up all over the place. And I'd rather not waste our one second on a river of bile." I said, clutching my stomach. Kurt sighed before I touched his shoulder.

"Hey, you may be a big blue goofball, but even a hard ass like Cyclops knows when you're being serious." I said. Kurt smiled at my words before looking at Forge.

"Let's go." Kurt said.

**Regular Dimension **

The X-Men had finally caught up to Toad and chased him up a tree, literally.

"Get back, I'm warning you!" Toad said. Cyclops opened his visor and shot a thin optic blast at the branch the louse was standing on and destroyed it, causing him to fall and release the device. Jean caught the device with her telekinetic shields while Toad crashed down to the ground.

"Got it." She said as she lowered the device to herself so she could grab it.

"That's it, I'm outta here." Toad said, trying to jump away if Spyke didn't nail him to a tree by the back.

"Why don't you stick around for a while." He said. Cyclops walked next to Toad's face and put his hand on the button to open his visor.

"Now... tell us what you did to Kurt and Ripley." He said.

"I didn't do anything." Toad said, covering his face.

"He didn't." A voice said. Everyone looked to where the voice was coming from and saw Rogue leaning underneath the shade of a tree. "I did, and if ya'll wanna find blue boy and the princess I suggest you let him go."

**Later **

Rogue led the X-Men down into the basement and stopped right at the entrance to the laboratory inside.

"This is where it happened." Rogue said. Cyclops knelt down and picked up what looked like one of the bracelets Ripley was wearing and the remains of Kurt's holowatch.

"If you've hurt them I'm gonna..." Cyclops said.

"Hey! You threaten me, and you'll never find your little boyfriends." Rogue said. None of them realized it, but from within another dimension, three pairs of eyes were watching them all.

**Middleverse **

Cyclops and Rogue stared each other deep in the face, with looks that looked ready to kill and it looked like there was going to be some blood in the room.

"Whoa, take it easy Cyclops." Jean said, standing between the two. Kurt walked up to Cyclops and put a hand over his shoulder.

"Yeah Cyclops, just like I always said." Kurt said.

"Hey guys!" Kitty said. The X-Men looked over to Kitty and Evan, who were carrying the device and had it opened up to the circuitry inside. "We've been running a diagnostic on this thing."

"Can you believe it? This thing uses CPM, talk about retro man" Evan said.

"It's putting out, like, some kind of low steady pulse wave that seems to disappear into thin air." Kitty said.

"And that means what exactly?" Scott said impatiently.

"We think that this thing might have trapped the crawler and the Rip in another dimension." Evan said. Forge, Kurt, and I gasped in a feeling of success that we may have had some help at last.

"So let's trash it then." Cyclops said.

"Oh hell no!" I said loudly.

"No, no, no!" Forge said, walking over to Kurt. "They've got it all wrong, if they destroy the projector, we'll be trapped here forever." Forge quickly grabbed his new gizmo and begun to attach various wires and metal shackles to Kurt's wrists and ankles, while also propping the device itself on his chest. Meanwhile Cyclops had propped the projector on a table and begun to aim.

"Everyone stand back, I'm gonna use full power. This is going to be messy." Cyclops said touching his visor.

"Um you know, I could just, like, phase through the gizmo and, like, short it out quietly?" Cyclops and Spyke looked at her with blank expressions. "Oh right, forget I mentioned it."Kitty leaned over to Jean. "Like, what is it with guys and explosions anyway?" Jean laughed at her comment and shrugged. I walked over to Cyclops and went close to his face.

"Attention Cyclops, you are a total freaking dumbass and I hate you!" I shouted, hoping he could hear me.

"Forge, hurry! They're going to nuke the projector any second!" Kurt said as Forge put on the last little adjustment.

"Done! I think it'll give you enough power to teleport back for one second." Forge said, holding his chin. "But I was so rushed in putting it together I..."

"Just tell me what to do!" Kurt said.

"Push that button and teleport." Forge said, pointing to a button. "Tell them not to destroy the machine, they have to reset it instead. But you've only got a second before the battery fries."

"Right, I'm gone." Kurt said, pushing the button and teleporting. It didn't seem like he left the dimension, but he suddenly reappeared a couple inches in front of where he teleported in a blink of light.

"Reset it, don't..." Kurt said before he suddenly reappeared in front of us. "destroy it!" Kurt looked at himself and them back to us. "Oh man."

"Huh?" Scott said. "You guys saw that, right?"

"He's alive, which means..." Rogue said.

"Ripley's still alive too!" Kitty said.

"But what was he saying?" Jean said looking to Kitty, who just shrugged.

"He said 'reset don't', you know, don't reset it. He wants you to blow it up. Do it!" Spyke said.

"Ugh... boys!" I said loudly and holding my temples.

"I swear, these guys are, like, obsessed." Kitty said.

"Thank you!" I said to Kitty

"It sounded more like a warning to me." Scott said, holding his chin.

"Do you think they'll get it?" Forge said.

"I just hope they believe it." Kurt said.

"A warning from the goof man himself? Nah, come on. Blow that sucker!" Spyke said.

"Ah!" Kurt said, holding his face in his hands.

"Man, you do have a rep." Forge said.

"No, Nightcrawler's a joker, but he knows when to be serious." Cyclops said.

"Yes!" Kurt and I said.

"Look, if he wanted us to destroy it, why didn't he say don't and then reset instead of reset and then don't?" Cyclops said.

"Ooh Cyke, you da man!" Kurt said, holding two thumbs up. I smiled and leaned into Cyclops' face and smacked my lips like I kissed him.

"If you could hear me, I'd say I love you again." I said. Cyclops walked to the projector and picked it up.

"I think he wants us to reset this thing." Cyclops said, looking all over the machine.

"Score!" Kurt and Forge said, giving each other high-fives before I wrapped an arm around their shoulders and hugged them both.

"Intensity settings, power regulators, beam width... restart!" Cyclops said, pushing a button on the device. He set it back down on the table and it began to shake a lot before the familiar light appeared and shot right towards us. A big bubble of light appeared and the fog began to clear up quickly. I looked at everyone and saw that by their facial expressions that they could finally see us.

"Come on! Teleport through!" Cyclops shouted. Kurt nodded and grabbed us by our wrists.

"Hang on, let's go!" He said.

"We can't, the battery's tapped out. We need more juice if we want to get back home." Forge said.

"Look!" I said, pointing to the now closing portal.

"The portal won't last long, it's now or never." Forge said.

"What's the matter? Let's go!" Cyclops shouted.

"Another power source, huh?" I said, looking to Kurt who had a smile on his face. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah man, hang on!" Kurt said, teleporting the three of us away.

"What're they doing?" Spyke said.

"I don't know, but I hope they hustle." Cyclops said.

"There they are." A voice said. Everyone turned around and saw that the Brotherhood Boys were walking into the room, with Toad leading them inside. "And they still got that vapo-ray I was telling you about."

"Rogue" Avalanche said. "Mystique sent us to find you, so are you with us or them?"

"Mystique? You're working for her?" Cyclops said.

"Hey Summers, you got your friends, Ah got mine. But this ain't mah fight, Ah'm outta here." Rogue said, walking right out of the room.

"Okay, fork it over losers." Blob said.

"Or this place is gonna rock!" Avalanche said, pounding a foot on the ground and causing the place to shake violently.

"The projector stays with us! X-Men, keep that portal open!" Cyclops said as everyone formed a line. Avalanche smirked at the group and sniffed.

"Your call." He said, stomping his foot once more, causing another violent shaking and pieces of gravel from the ceiling fall. The X-Men wiggled and shifted a bit, but found their level ground and stood strong as the Brotherhood charged in with a battle cry.

**Middleverse **

In a puff of brimstone, we appeared in the middle of the hallway.

"Groovy ride, but where's this power source?" Forge asked.

"Check it." Kurt said, pointing to the car that almost squished us.

"Far out man!" Forge said, pulling out his robot arm and running towards the car. Kurt and I looked at the guy with weirded out looks.

"I swear, that homie's lingo is so whack." Kurt said.

"I know right?" I replied before my head began to pound. I closed my eyes and focused on the source of my pain and saw ensuing battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood Boys.

"Ugh, those dumb fuckers." I said silently.

"Vas?" Kurt said.

"We need to hurry up. Toad is back for the projector and he's brought friends." I said. "I'll be right with you in a moment."

"Where are you going?" Kurt asked.

"The others need some help if we're going to get out of here, and I'd better do something to help them quick. Call me on your communicator when you're ready." I said.

"I thought you weren't feeling so good." Kurt said.

"I am, but if I do blow chunks, I'll try to aim for the Brotherhood Boys." I said, smiling sadistically.

"Go for it man." Kurt said giving me a thumb up. I nodded my head before teleporting away to the entrance of the portal. When I arrived, I began to feel lightheaded, but I forced myself to remain steady and stand up straight. I looked up and saw Blob fighting with Cyclops and Jean.

"It'll take much more than that to stop me!" Blob shouted.

"Good to know." I said as my eyes glowed. I concentrated on his shoes and melted them together by the heels, causing him to lose his balance am begin to wiggle around trying to gain it back. Cyclops looked back at the portal and saw me looking right at Blob. He smiled before blasting away at the ground beneath the Blob.

"Jean now." Cyclops said. Jean nodded and touched her temples, moving a large chunk of ground from beneath Blob's feet and causing him to trip. Next I saw Toad hopping around Evan trying to annoy him or find a perfect opportunity to strike.

"Whatcha got, huh?" He said as Spyke tried to land some punches on him. "Nuthin', you got nuthin' on me." Toad jumped over Evan and went for the projector. Spyke loaded up some of his spikes and launched them in front of Toad, creating a cage that the idiot slammed into. Toad tried to get up again, but I used my telekinesis to slam him back into the bars and look me straight in the eye.

"Do you know what happens to a toad in the microwave?" I said.

"What?" Toad said nervously. I smiled as my head lit up with my blue flames and darkened my face.

**"The same thing that happens to everything else."** I said darkly as I unleashed my fire from the portal and formed a large ring around Toad, causing him to levitate.

"AAAHH!" Toad screamed. "Please no, please no, please no!" I smirked as I heard him squeal before looking over to Lance, who was fighting with Kitty.

**"Hey Avalanche!" **I shouted. He looked back at me with a raised brow and a kind of surprised look. **"How about a little game of hot pa-todd-a?!" **I gestured my hand and flung Toad at the boy's face. Toad screamed in terror before hitting Lance dead in the face, with their lips touching each other's.

_"Hmm, I made a funny." _I thought, chuckling to myself. Lance and Toad quickly got off of each other, spitting and gagging on each other's spittle.

"Oh gross!" Lance said.

"Sick, yo!" Toad said. I laughed at their reactions before gesturing again with my hand, causing the floor underneath the boys' feet to sink.

"What is this?" Avalanche shouted.

**"It's Ripley bitch!"** I shouted as my communicator began to beep.

**"Yeah?" **I said.

"Ripley, we're ready. Get back here now."

**"Roger that, I'm on my way."** I said, turning off my communicator and looking to Avalanche and Toad. I clenched my fist and made them stop sinking, but their feet and ankles were buried and they couldn't keep their balance, so they fell over.

**"See you later babies."** I said, teleporting right in front of where the car should have been, startling Forge and Kurt.

"Ah!" Forge shouted.

**"What?" **I said, looking around. **"What's wrong?"**

"Uh... Ripley? Your head is on fire." Kurt said.

**"Oops."** I said, turning off the fire. "I totally forgot, sorry if I scared you guys."

"It's alright, now get in!" Kurt said. I nodded and jumped right into the backseat of the car before Forge attached a few more wires from the machine and into the car engine.

"Have you done this before?" Kurt asked.

"Nope." Forge said.

"Wunderbah." Kurt said, rolling his eyes before flooring the gas pedal. "Let's go!" Kurt drove us a few feet before teleporting us away somewhere. Meanwhile, the Blob had gotten back on his feet and freed the others from my sandtrap, and now they were on a big group attack.

"Alright, enough with the warmup round, now it's time for the real pounding." Blob said before a loud honking noise filled the basement. Cyclops looked behind him and saw something was about to come through.

"Everyone get out of the way! Move!" Cyclops shouted as a car emerged from the portal.

"Whoo hoo!" Kurt shouted out as the car ran right into the Blob's stomach, forcing it to a complete stop and causing the airbags to explode free.

"Huh, good thing I'm the Blob." He said.

"Yeah, good thing." Toad said as Avalanche looked to where the now destroyed projector laid.

"Aw man, come on guys the party's over." He said, leading the other boys out of the room.

"What're these?" Forge said, bouncing his hands on the airbags.

"Reentry cushions, pretty nice huh?" Kurt said.

"Yeah." I said weakly. "Though it,wouldn't kill anyone besides me to install them in the back seats." I opened the car door and fell down with a thud before shaking it off and standing up.

"Oh Scott?" I said.

"Yeah?" Cyclops asked.

"Come here." I said, leading him over to me.

"You okay?" Cyclops asked.

"Yep." I said, punching him on his shoulder.

"Ow!" He said, rubbing his arm.

"Trash it?!" I shouted. "A strange machine traps us in an alternate dimension and the first thing you think of doing is to trash it?! That's like every single movie where things go wrong you ass!" Scott rubbed the back of his neck before I wrapped him up in a hug. "Though I'm glad you got the message and decided to listen to Kurt, for once." Cyclops returned my hug and wrapped his arms around me, until I felt the strong urge to explode. "Oh my God!" I let go of Cyclops and ran off outside. "Hold!"

"What's the matter with him?" Spyke said.

"He said he felt a little sensitive to his stomach from teleporting so many times." Kurt said. Once I was outside, I unloaded everything from my stomach into a trashcan before wiping my mouth on a tissue and sniffing in deeply.

_"Okay, that's just gross." _I thought as I glanced up to see Rogue looking at me from behind a tree. When she saw that I was looking at her, she hid back behind the tree. I raised a brow and teleported once more right behind where she was.

"Twice." I said, making Rogue gasp and turn around.

"What?" She said.

"Twice you saved mine and one of my friend's lives. You could've just let us bite the bullet and yet you still don't want anything to do with us. Seriously, I wanna know what the fuck Rogue?" I said.

"Ah owed you the last time, you stopped meh from hurtin' people and mahself. Ah just wanted to return the favor alright?" She said.

"Oh come on, screw that! A favor is usually paid off once, but you've repaid it twice, and I didn't do anything else for you besides help you back up when I knocked you down this Wednesday. Which I am still sorry about by the way, but you just keep on coming to the rescue." I said. Rogue sighed before moving one of her bangs aside.

"Do... you like us? Like me?" I said.

"No, Ah...!" Rogue said before closing her eyes and her fists before huffing. "Look, whatever stupid reasons you think Ah care for you all in your stupid head, just drop them and leave meh alone." Rogue said, walking away from me. I watched her go before I sighed and walked back to the basement door, where the X-Men and Forge were emerging from.

"Hey, you okay man?" Kurt said.

"Yeah. I feel a bit better, just kind of woozy from the heaving. You got a mint on you?" I said.

"None of us do I'm afraid, but I got this." Scott said, emerging from the door and holding up one of my bracelets that was supposed to be on my wrist.

"My bracelet!" I said. "What...?" I looked at my wrist and saw that the golden band encrusted with glass beads was missing. "Huh, I didn't even notice it was gone."

"Yeah well, it's better you keep track of your things, you know?" Scott said, walking up to me and putting my bracelet back on my arm. "No offense Forge."

"Hey, none taken." Forge said. I grabbed my bracelet out of his hand and put it back on my wrist where it belonged.

"Thank you Scotty, but for fuck's sake stop making me like you so much. Otherwise I'll snatch you up and leave Jean in the cold." I said looking to Jean. "No offense Jeannie."

"None taken." Jean said, wrapping her arms around Scott and kissing his cheek, making him smile.

**Later **

Everyone in the group was in the parking lot and in their regular clothes and huddled around Scott's car ready to head off to wherever, and when we arrived I just noticed that it was nighttime.

_"Time sure flies when you're scared to shit I guess."_ I thought, looking up to the moon.

"You're welcome to crash with us for a while Forge." Scott said. "Xavier's cool, you'd like him."

"Thanks, but I'd better go find my parents." Forge said. "I'm thirty years late for curfew." Forge looked to Kurt and me, who were sitting on the back of the car. "Thanks for bailing me out guys." Forge reached a couple hands towards us, which Kurt and I accepted and laid some skin on them.

"Hey, no problem." Kurt said.

"It was nice meeting you man." I said.

"Hop in, we'll give you a lift." Scott said, opening one of the doors to his car.

"Thanks, but I can make it from here, it's only a few blocks." Forge said.

"Okay, but if you need any help, just call." Scott said, handing a piece of paper with a number and address on it.

"Sure, I'll do that." Forge said, taking the paper, waving goodbye, and walking away.

"See you later. Goodbye!" We all said as he walked away.

"Think he'll be alright? I mean thirty years is a long time." I said to Kurt.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't worry too much, he's a smart guy." Kurt said.

"Yeah, but I still feel like..." I said before shaking my head. "Never mind."

"What?" Kurt said.

"It's nothing, it's crazy." I said walking off a couple inches.

"Dude, what happened today was the definition of crazy, I'm sure it can't get any more crazy." Kurt said. I sighed before looking at Kurt.

"I just feel like I might... know him from somewhere somehow." I said.

"Hey guys, we're heading out!" Evan called out. Kurt and I nodded at him and walked over to the car before finding a seat, with Kurt and I in the back with Evan. Scott looked at his rear view mirror and tilted it to get a better look at Kurt.

"Uh... you're gonna have to duck until we find you a new holowatch." Scott said. Kurt gasped dramatically and held his cheeks in his hands.

"So it's true, you are ashamed of me!" Kurt said, making both him and Scott laugh.

"Yeah right dude." Scott said before looking away and back at Kurt. "Hey, listen. About what happened earlier... my bad." We all grew surprised looks on our faces and stared Scott right in the face.

"Dude..." I said to Kurt.

"No, it was on me too." Kurt said.

"Maybe... maybe you're right, I take things too seriously. I need to lighten up a bit." Jean, Kitty, and I gasped in shock.

"Oh Scott, not you." Jean said.

"Check his temperature!" Kitty said, placing her hand on Scott's forehead. "Mr. Military's going soft!"

"Be careful, he might have the flu!" I said, grabbing Kitty's hand away from Scott's head, making Jean laugh under her breath.

"Yeah, and I could probably turn down the goofing around a little." Kurt said.

"But don't turn it down too much please, I love goofball Kurt." I said, wrapping my arms around Kurt. "In a non-platonic kind of way of course."

"Welcome back guys." Scott said, holding a fist for us. Kurt and I bumped his fist before settling down in the seats.

"Okay, so how about we all go home, suit up and run a level three Danger Room simulation!" Scott said in a joyous tone.

"Scott..." Jean said.

"Give us a break!" Kitty said.

"Haven't we done enough today?" I groaned, holding my head.

"Oh man, see? This is what I mean! Too serious!" Kurt said pointing to Scott's face.

"Psych!" Scott said loudly. Jean, Kitty, and I giggled at his little joke while Kurt and Evan smiled approvingly.

"Very nice! There's hope for you yet!" Kurt said, putting a hand on Scott's shoulder.

"Yeah, well tell me about it on the way to Matthew's party." Scott said. Kitty grumbled and folded her arms in disappointment.

"Aw, but I can't go remember? I'm, like, a freshman." She fumed. Scott placed his arm around her shoulder.

"You're also one of the X-Men." He said. Jean placed her hand on Kitty's shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll make it happen." Jean said.

"Count on it." I said placing a hand on her shoulder. Kitty smiled before Scott turned on his car, which made me shiver furiously.

"Whoo!" I yelled.

"Whoo!" Everyone else shouted along with me. I sighed in relief before I wiped the sweat off my brow.

_"Thank God there's a party." _I thought as we drove off to its location.

**End of Chapter 29 **

**A/N: Holy crap this one took forever! Thanks for being patient you guys, stay tuned for the next chapter when Ripley and the X-Men tear it up at the party before learning something completely unexpected. Review, favorite, and follow, because if you do, it'll make Ripley and I very happy. Peace!**


	30. Chapter 30

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 30: Party, then Hearty **

I took in a deep breath as Jean and Scott opened the door of Duncan Mathews' house, the loud music and the smell of deep-fried stuff filling my senses. Before we arrived at the house, we had gone back home to repair Kurt's holowatch after it had been severely damaged from Forge's lab's defenses in our little adventure from the Middleverse. It was actually a much quicker fix then I would've imagined for a complicated device. But since I'd been through a tough day and I needed a break from all the interdimensional mutant fighting bullshit, I didn't want to get too into it and just have a decent time with my friends, even if it is at my worst enemy's house. I looked around at the place and shrugged a bit.

"You know, if we didn't live in a big freaking mansion, this would seem like a big house. Otherwise, nice house." I said to Evan.

"I know right?" Evan said. Kurt suddenly appeared behind me and pat our backs.

"Come on dudes, let's party!" Kurt said.

"Yes sir, whoo!" I shouted as Kitty sprung up behind me and wrapped her arms around my chest.

"Not without me you won't!" Kitty said.

"Never without you." I said, piggybacking Kitty to the dance floor while she cheered as the others followed behind me. Scott appeared at the front door after Evan and looked around at the house before looking to his girlfriend.

"So Scott, what do you think?" Jean said, grabbing Scott's hand in hers.

"I wish I could say I've seen bigger." Scott said.

"Be nice." Jean said, looping her arm with Scott's. "Look, we're and we're together, and everything's gonna be alright."

"I can think of better places for this, but now... there isn't a place I'd rather be." Scott said. Jean smiled as she leaned closer to his lips for a kiss.

"Jean, Scott!" A girl called out. Scott and Jean looked over at the girl and smiled a bit as she ran over.

"Um... hi Taryn." Jean said as the girl wrapped her in a hug.

"Paul, what's up dude?" Scott said.

"Nothing much, but it looks like you two have been up to a lot. You finally got together, huh?" Paul said.

"Yeah, we did." Scott said, holding Jean's hand in his.

"It's about time, I thought you'd stay with Duncan until senior year when we all actually started using our brains, when he still wouldn't." Paul said, making Taryn laugh.

"Come on guys, Duncan threw this party to bring peace between us, and if we can at least,be friends, I think that would be just fine." Jean said. Meanwhile the friends were talking, myself and the others were kicking it out on the dance floor. Kurt and Evan were off doing their own thing while Kitty and I were dancing together like two fires swirling around each other in the wind.

"I didn't know you could dance." Kitty said.

"I'm kind of not." I said.

"Like, what do you mean?" Kitty asked.

"I think I'm probably in my fighter's sense right now and it's making me move uncontrollably like a robot!" I said.

"Oh, like, maybe we should stop then?" Kitty said.

"No, I love it!" I shouted as I twirled my head around to the music, making Kitty laugh until some guy walked up to us. Duke Shay, one of Duncan's boys.

"Hey, no freshmen allowed." Duke said, grabbing Kitty's shoulder.

"Hey, let go!" Kitty said. I turned around to see what was going on and saw Kitty getting dragged away by the gorilla of a boy. I tensed up as I walked over to them and grabbed the boy's hand and lifted it off her arm.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Hands off big boy."

"Well, well, if it isn't Davey the Fairy." Duke said. I furiously glared at the boy as a small fire lit up in the palm of my hand.

"Ripley don't." Kitty said. I glanced at my hand and shut down the fireworks before smirking and looking right into the boy's eyes.

"She's with me handsome, just let us be." I said, my eyes glowing bright. The guy's eyes glowed at the same intensity as mine before he smiled brightly.

"Yes sir." He said. "Sorry sir, would you like me to bring you a soda?"

"Mountain Dew, diet please." I said, looking to Kitty. "Anything for milady?"

"Just, like, a mineral water with a lemon wedge." She said. I looked at the older boy with a little smile.

"Did you get that?" I asked.

"Yes sir." He said. I leaned over to his cheek and gave it a little kiss.

"Thanks stud." I said. The guy smiled a bit before he walked away. I turned around to talk to Kitty before I saw everyone staring at me. "Now no one else can have it." Everyone chuckled a bit before going back to their own thing. Kitty giggled before looping her arm with mine and leading me off of the dance floor and to a nearby couch.

"I didn't know you could, like, pull a Whodini on people." Kitty said, sitting down.

"Well, it's a trick that feels so wrong, that it feels so good that I don't usually use unless it's for the cutie pies." I said.

"Aww." Kitty said.

"With the exception of you." I said. Kitty gasped dramatically before slapping my shoulder.

"Your drinks?" Duke said.

"Why thank you." I said as Duke handed me a cold bottle of the drink I asked for and a glass of mineral water with a lemon wedge to Kitty.

"Come here." I said, gesturing for Duke to get closer. I puckered my lips and gave the boy a little peck on the cheek. "Thanks stud, now go and enjoy yourself until I have any more need of you."

"Yes sir." He said, walking away.

"So... Ripley." Kitty said.

"So... Kitty?" I replied.

"How've you been?" Kitty asked.

"I've been... fine I guess." I said.

"No, I mean how have you, like, been. Like, not what people say to get people off their back. Losing someone you care about and burying them is, like, a very tough thing to do. I wanna know, how are doing, like, really?" I sighed a bit and adjusted myself in my seat.

"Well, I won't lie, I'm really just tired of feeling so horrible. I mean I got some closure and I laid Kyle to rest after his suffering in the coma and stuff, but I still feel like, I feel like there's something that I'm supposed to do." I said. Kitty leaned over and put her hand on my knee.

"You've done enough Rip. You pulled everything together, you gathered all the people who knew you and Kyle, and you buried him with lots of love. There's nothing else you can do, you've done everything." Kitty said. I grabbed Kitty's hand and held it as I smiled thankfully at her.

"Thanks Kitty." I said. Kitty smiled and nodded before standing up.

"Want to go back to the dance floor?." Kitty said. My stomach began to churn and rumble. I had recently lost my lunch and I was killing for some

"Later, my stomach needs nourishment, and those deep-fried doughballs covered in chocolate look very good right now." I said. Kitty giggled before patting my back.

"Okay, find me when you're ready to get down." Kitty said. I nodded as she walked to where people were dancing, while I headed to the table for some munchies. I got a small plate and loaded it with a couple slices of pizza and a couple Chinese doughnuts before I saw a couple guys checking me out.

"Hey boys, see something you'd like?" I said, posing for the older boys. "What's on the plate, or what's under these clothes?"

"Pfft, fag." They said.

"Pile of what exactly?" I said.

"What?"

"Fag is another word meaning 'pile of', really you must be more specific in your ridicule when insulting someone." I said, walking away with my plate and a cup of water. I found an empty seat at a couch and took a few bites of pizza. It was still kind of warm, it wasn't the best, but it was still pretty tasty. I looked around at the other people walking around before I saw Kurt standing on a table and dancing similarly to how he was this afternoon when Scott was all up in his grill. I smirked at him before setting my plate down and walking towards the table.

"Hey Kurt!" I said, grabbing his attention. "How about I show you how the experts do it?" I unzipped my sweater and let it slide down and off my torso before kicking it aside onto some guy's lap. I crouched down before flipping over to the table and spinning around in a circle around Kurt.

"Yo DJ, hit it." I said, winking a glowing eye at him. His eyes glowed for a second before he nodded and turned on a new song. I rocked my head as the song began.

_"This is how we do it."_

I crouched down before standing right back up and dancing viciously, promptly challenging Kurt to a dance off. Kurt smirked before he walked up to me and began to dance alongside me.

**A few minutes later **

"I give, I give!" I said, holding up my hands and smiling. Everyone cheered and whooped for Kurt as we gave each other a high-five and hugged. I gave it a good go, but Kurt totally anihilated me and my fancy feet.

"Excellent moves mein freund." He said.

"You seldom disappoint." I said, getting off of the table and helping Kurt down. "I didn't know you could do that thing with your hands."

"Neither did I, until I tried it out." Kurt said as we sat at the juice bar. "So what do you think about Forge?"

"He's a cool guy, and kind of a cutie pie in my opinion." I said.

"Think you'll find the nerve to ask him out?"

"Nah, I'll shamelessly flirt with a straight guy, but I won't ask him out if he's not into me. It'd be like I'm forcing the guy to come out of a closet that doesn't exist." I said.

"Hmm, I wish I shared that trait with you mein freund, because a perfect opportunity has just passed our way." Kurt said. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all. But a little word of advice Kurt? Don't be someone you're not, be Kurt Wagner. Well, not the blue one, you get my gestute, right?"

"Yah, be myself, but not me. Got it." Kurt said. I smiled as he walked to his heart's, or his head's, desire before gesturing the juice boy to bring me something.

"For the record, your dancing was totally cool." A voice said. I turned around at where the voice was coming from and saw that it was from a pretty, young girl with brown hair and bright eyes.

"Thanks, uh, Taryn right? Jean's friend." I said, holding out a hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you Taryn, Jean's told me about you." She smiled and accepted my hand into a friendly handshake.

"Yeah, she's told me about you too. I'm so sorry about your dad and Kyle. I think I've met him once, he seemed like he was a nice guy." She said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"He was, which made it all the harder to let him go." I said as my Shirley Temple had arrived. "Thanks." I took a sip from the straw before Taryn spoke up again.

"Does it hurt, losing someone you care about like that?" I said.

"Every damn day." I said looking to her. "Did you lose anyone?"

"No, and yes." Taryn said, looking to Scott and Jean talking to a brown haired boy and laughing.

"Oh... you were crushing hard on Scott weren't you?" I said, making Taryn blush.

"Yeah. I've crushed on him almost as long as he has on Jean. And seeing him with her, it kind of hurts you know? That it's not me he's with." She said. "Think she'll take Duncan back?"

"I'm sorry, but they're boobs deep into each other." I said. "There isn't a chance that Jeannie's gonna take tall, blonde, and douchey back. The best they could be now is uncomfortable aquaintences. But you know what? You're lucky."

"Lucky?" Taryn said.

"Yeah. The one I loved is gone from this world and I'm alone, but you still have the guy of your dreams right there alive and kicking. He may not see you the same way, but maybe you could learn to love him a different way, that way you can cope and move onto new love for someone else. Maybe that cutie pie they're talking to."

"Paul? No, I don't think so." Taryn said nervously.

"Come on girl, he seems sweet, funny, and only possibly heterosexual." I said, making her laugh under her breath.

"I don't know, I mean we've been friends for a long time, and I don't want things to get weird between us." Taryn said,mrubbing her arm.

"Oh come now. Jean and Scott were friends once, and now they're 'friends'. Most longshots always find a way of hitting somewhere, even when they don't quite hit where you thought they would. You just gotta at least give it a try." I said. Taryn looked at me and then back to Paul with a confident look.

"You're right. I'm gonna go talk to Paul right now. Thanks Ripley." Taryn said.

"That's okay." I said. "Good luck." I turned back around to enjoy my drink and the solace of solitude. I don't usually enjoy being alone in the worst of times, but there are a few occasions when I find myself enjoying some alone time. I enjoyed it for a few minutes when I saw Duncan Mathews finally show up to his own party.

_"Where the hell has he been?" _I thought as he approached Jean, which made me nervous at first, but I thought about how Jean is with people and that she and Duncan wanted to make amends for his misdeeds and misconduct with their now finished relationship.

"Jean, can I talk to you please?" Duncan said. Scott grew a defensive look on his face before Jean placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go Duncan." Jean said.

"Where I can see you." Scott said. Duncan gave Scott a kind of quick and silent look that seemed kind of threatening in my eyes, but as quick it came, it went away.

"Sure." Duncan said, leading Jean away from Scott. I set my drink down on the table and walked cautiously towards the two older teens. I hid behind a house plant and watched and listened to what the two were saying to each other.

"This is a nice party Duncan. It's just as big as the one you threw last year." Jean said.

"Not really, three of my football squad didn't show up. Allergies or something." Duncan said.

"Mmm." Jean said. The two were silent before Duncan spoke up.

"Jean... I'm sorry. I've been a total idiot and I haven't ever noticed how big an idiot I was. But I see it now, and again I am so, so sorry." Duncan said, grabbing her hand. "Could you maybe give me another chance?"

"Duncan, I get that you're sorry, but I'm with Scott now. I know he wouldn't ever lie to me or treat me like a trophy on a wall, and it's gonna take time for me to trust you again." Jean said.

"Please Jean, we had a good thing going, it was nice and beautiful, like you." Duncan said, making Jean almost blush. "Please give me another chance."

"I'm sorry, but what we had, it's over." Jean said. I saw that the answer wasnt good enough for Duncan and he was getting kind of agitated.

"But, I said I was sorry, you gotta give me another chance." Duncan said.

"I am giving you a chance, for us to be friends." Jean said.

"I don't wanna be just friends, I want us to be more." Duncan replied.

"We can't. I told you, I'm with Scott now." Jean said.

"So dump him, he's a nobody, he'll understand." Duncan said, pulling Jean in close. Jean gasped in surprise before pushing the boy away.

"Duncan! He's my best friend! He's a kind, and truthful, and decent person!" She said. "Something I know now you'll never be. This was a mistake, we're done." Jean began to walk away before Duncan grabbed her arm.

"We're not done yet!" He said.

"Yes we are, let go of me!" Jean said, trying to remove his fingers from her arm.

"Listen to me Jean!" Duncan said. Scott saw that something was going wrong and he ran right to the rescue.

"Hey! Get your hand off of her!" Scott shouted.

"Stay out of this Summers! This is between me and her!" Duncan said.

"I don't know if you have wax in your ears, but..." I said as I pulled Duncan away from Scott and in the middle of the dance floor. "He and the lady said to piss off."

"Stay out of this Davey." Duncan said, standing up. He tried to lay a punch on me, but I jumped up and grabbed at his head with my ankles before I flipped him over. I put my foot on his chest and pressed down hard as he tried to get up.

"Do not call me that! I hate it when you and your little monkey slaves call me that! My name is David Allen Ripley, and don't you fucking forget it! And you know what else I hate? When someone tells me to stay out of things that involve my friends. When it comes to them, it's all my fucking business!" I said before letting my foot off of his chest and kicking him in the side, making him grunt in pain "Stay the hell away from her from now on Mathews, or else you'll get more than just some bruised ribs. You understand?" I gave him one more kick before I scoffed and walked away towards Kitty.

"Help me gather the others Kat, we're going home." I said. Kitty looked behind me with wide eyes.

"Ripley look out!" She shouted. Behind me, Duncan had a basketball at the ready and had tossed it at my head, however I turned around and punched it hard, sending it back to Mathews' stomach.

"That's it, I've held back from tearing your arm off for too long! I don't care if you beg or scream, I'm taking my arm back now!" I said.

"Get him!" Duncan said to his football team.

"Ooh, hey boys!" I said looking around at the jocks. "Let's see, there's... one, two, three, four five, six, seven... there's seven of you, and one of me. What's a poor guy to do? Oh yeah..." I ripped my sweater off and tore some holes in my jeans before rolling up my sleeves and getting into my fighter's sense.

"Kick some ass." I said. Suddenly, Evan, Kitty, and Kurt stepped into the ring with me and got into a fighter's poses. "Get out of here guys, I'm about to get my groove on."

"We aren't going anywhere." Kurt said.

"We got your back man." Evan said.

"These guys are toast." Kitty said.

"The loser musketeers, how cute." Duncan said.

"Says the stupid cute guy who tried to bitch slap me from behind with a basketball and is now hiding behind, oop, now there's nine of you, nine guys." I said. Duncan frowned at me before looking outside. His face went pale as two lights went across it.

"Everyone get out of here! My parents are home!" Duncan shouted. Everyone in the house scrambled everywhere in the house, trying to find an exit and stepping over a few people.

"Let's get out of here." I said before looking at Duncan, who was looking at me with a furious glare. "Come on, everyone out." I led the others away from the dance floor to Jean and Scott.

"You guys okay?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah." Scott said. Jean looked really down and saddened by what happened just now and didn't really answer except a slight nod.

"Guys, we need to go, like, now." Kitty said. I held out my hand towards Jean and Scott.

"Let's go home." I said. Jean nodded and grabbed my hand before everyone else did.

"Wait, my car!" Scott said.

Everyone grabbed my hand and with a whoosh of air we were outside of the house next to Scott's car.

"What about it? It's sill here." I said. Scott smiled before we all quickly found our seats and Scott floored the gas pedal away from the house. After a couple minutes of silence and road, Kitty broke it, the silence part I mean.

"Well that, like, sucked." Kitty said.

"Yeah, but it was still kind of fun, minus the almost brawl of 2012." I said before looking at Jean, who was leaning in close to Scott, who had an arm around her shoulders. She looked so sad... so defeated, and I couldn't help but feel responsible. In fact, I was responsible. I was the one broke up Jean and Duncan when she was trying to get us to make peace, and even if he was a total douche, maybe he did want to make up somehow, but didnt know how because of my actions. I closed my eyes and removed my seat belt before jumping up out of my seat.

"Ripley!" Kitty shouted as I flew off. Scott halted the breaks and pulled over to the side of the road.

"Ripley come back!" Scott shouted to me, but I was long gone now and out of sight.

**(Normal POV) **

"What's up with him?" Evan asked. Jean stepped out of the car and concentrated on their fleeing companion and friend.

"Hmm." She said before walking to the road.

"Jean, where are you going?" Scott asked.

"I'm going to find him. His presence is strong, so he should be easy to find." Jean said. "I'll be right back." She lifted herself up into the air and slowly levitated herself across the sky before she caught wind of Ripley's mind a few feet to her right. She moved in the direction of his mind's wavelength and saw the young man huddled up in a ball.

"Ripley!" Jean shouted.

**(Ripley's POV) **

I looked behind me and saw her levitating close to me.

"Leave me alone Jean." I said, moving a few feet away. "Before I hurt you any more."

"You didn't hurt me Ripley." Jean said.

"Yes I have. You and Duncan were happy together and then I ruined everything with you two and now your upset because of it. I shouldn't have said anything that day, maybe then you'd be happier, and you wouldn't be hurting."

"I am happier Ripley." Jean said. I looked at her with a confused expression. "I've been conflicted and confused over my feelings for Scott, and I knew that Duncan wasn't right in hs mind, but I chose to remain ignorant to try and change him, to care for him. But because you showed me the truth when I wouldn't look, the conflict, the emotional mess, the fog, it's all gone. I'm happier than I have ever been."

"But... what happened back there..." I said.

"I was a hurt Ripley, that Duncan didn't learn from his failure with me and somehow tried to bring me back into ignorance. I almost fell for it until he got angry. Now I fully see what he is for the first time." Jean said.

"What's that?" I asked

"He's a coward and a bully, and a tramp." Jean said. I hesitated before I gave a playful scoff and a gasp.

"Ooh, language Miss Grey." I said, making Jean giggle.

"There's the Ripley we know." She said. I blushed a bit before Jean spoke up again.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel like it was your fault." Jean said.

"Oh no, it wasn't you Jeannie, it was me. I was just being a totally unfair jerk with myself." I said.

"Nice guys like you shouldn't be unfair jerks to themselves." Jean said, levitating close to me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks Jean." I said. "I, uh, think we're supposed to hug now." Jean smiled before she wrapped me in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and returned the hug before we let go of each other.

"Let's go, everyone's probably worried about us by now." Jean said. I nodded and we both flew out to where Scott and the others should be, hand in hand.

**Later **

After mine and Jean's talk, the ride back home seemed to be a lot less of a depressing thing. Kurt and Kitty were talking about what they did at the party, and apparently Kurt tried asking out this one chick out, and she turned him down. Meanwhile, Evan was waving his hand up and down in the air and making little tricks with it, while Jean was leaning in close to Scott. Only she wasn't sulking, she was talking to him, and he was talking to her, both of them flattering each other into lovey-dovey pancakes of mush, which actually made me kind of sick. All the while I was making various shapes and forms with my flames, including a heart with a J and a K inside. Thinking about Kyle made me go kind of numb inside, and all I could think about was how much I missed him and wanted nothing more than to be with the one thing in all my life that made me truly and wonderfully happy. I launched the heart into the air and watched it go out with a little puff of smoke. I had decided to just sit back and relax when we were approaching the small stretch of road that led to the mansion when we saw someone sitting down on the side of road.

"Hold on, is that...?" Evan said as the figure sitting down came into view.

"Forge?" Kurt said before standing up in his seat. "Forge! Hey!" The young man from the 70s looked up at us and smiled a bit before standing up.

"Dudes, hey!" Forge said as I undid my seat belt, and flew to the decades old teenager before I wrapped him in a hug.

"We didn't expect to see you again so soon man, I thought you were going to find your parents." I said. Forge grew a sad expression on his face

"I wanted to, but when I got back to where my house should've been, it was gone." He said.

"What?" I said.

"Oh no!" Kitty said.

"What do you mean it was gone?" Scott said.

"That's what I wondered too, so I asked around for clues about what happened and some people who lived around the area said there was a gas leak or something and there was an explosion that took it out." I felt a large lump in my throat when he said that, because that's the falsified story that Xavier came up with to hide mutants after my powers emerged.

_"Wait a minute, could he mean?" _I thought.

"What was your address?" I asked.

"96 Maryland Street." Forge replied. I just about fell to the ground when he said the address if Scott hadn't caught me.

"Whoa man, are you okay?" He asked.

"Before I lived at the mansion, 96 Maryland Street was my house's address." I said.

"What?" Forge said.

"But wait, that house belonged to relatives of my father before us. What were your parents names?" I said, putting my hands on Forge's shoulders

"George and Carly Davidson." I gasped and my breathing began to tremble heavily before I let him go,and ran my hands over my head.

"Ripley, are you okay?" Kitty asked. I struggled to keep the tears in my eyes, but they just wouldn't stay in and they began to leak out.

"Those are the names of my great uncle and great aunt." I said, trying not to explode.

"It can't be." Evan said. "Could it."

"It all makes perfect sense now. When Aunt Carly was about to pass on she wanted to just give us the house, she couldn't stand to be there anymore and no one else wanted it. We had no where to live after the firestorm and we were desperate for a place, and why she'd just give us hers didn't make any sense to me. But now... I think I understand. She had a son, and one day he disappeared, he was just gone, no one knew where he was. He was a special boy with great talents for machines and things that everyone couldn't understand, and he ran away because he was picked on constantly by his peers because of them, am I right Forge?"

"Ripley, what are you saying?" Forge asked.

"Forge... I think you're my long lost cousin." I said.

**End of Chapter 30 **

**A/N: "Gasp" Who didn't see the coming, huh? In the X-Men Evolution series, they never did much with Forge, so I thought a little family drama for Ripley would be in order. It fit in perfectly to what I assumed happened to Forge, he goes home, finds his parents gone, asks where they went, finds out they're dead, something like that, goes to live with the X-Men, and then so on and so forth. I hope you all enjoyed my twist ending, and stay tuned for the next chapter when Ripley and Forge get more aquainted and when Mystique tries to turn Ripley away from the X-Men. Review, favorite, and follow, because if you do, it would make Ripley and I very happy. Peace!**


	31. Chapter 31

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 31: Seeds of Contempt **

"So... what was George like?" I asked Forge. It had only been a couple hours since I made the discovery that the mutant trapped in the 70's was my cousin, once removed, and we were talking up massive storms about ourselves, and our family. I had also told him how my powers emerged and what had happened to the house, Carl, and Kyle. Next we talked about how our parents would react to our powers, and how they'd react to others like us.

"Well, my dad was kind of cool, except for when things happen that are unexplainable. He would always say that God was either rewarding or punishing those who crossed Him, like our mutant powers." Forge said.

"Did he hate them, or...?" I asked.

"No, he really thought I was something special and thought he was being forgiven after the accident." Forge said.

"Accident?"

"Yeah, when I was little, I was helping my dad fix the engine of his car and he thought it'd be a real hoot to scare me, but what he didn't know was that my arm was inside the engine trying to fix its runner. And when he turned it on it..."

"Oh, dude! That must have brutal." I said, trying not to gag.

"Yeah, the rest of my arm from the humerus down had to be amputated and that wasn't a rad time until one morning when I woke up and heard my clock buzzing."

"Why? What happened?"

"I figured out how to make my clock into an anti-gravity projector."

"Really? How'd you do that?" I asked with a raised brow. Forge was about to answer when I held up my hand. "Never mind, I'd probably not be able to understand."

"After what I did with my clock, I thought of the other things I could do, and then I looked at my arm and I knew what to do. Every day for weeks after, appliances from around the house began to disappear out of sight, my parents thought we were being robbed. They also noticed that I had been spending most of my time in my room and always heard strange noises and saw lights from under the door."

"Hmm, I can only guess what they thought you were doing with one arm." I said, smiling jokingly. Forge looked at me with a little weirded out smile. "Sorry, continue."

"One day they confronted me in my room, and saw me attach this to my stump." Forge said, unveiling his robot arm. "They were super excited about what I did and they wanted me to go out and cash in on my talents, but I didn't want to do it for the money, I just wanted to build. And that's how I got my name."

"What was your birth name?" I asked.

"I didn't really like my name, it sounded too strange and not... me."

"Well, I guess that's another thing we have in common. A certain personal dislike for our birth names." I said.

"What?" Forge asked with a raised brow.

"Ripley isn't my name, I've always hated my name because to me it was a reminder of all I'd lost, so I changed it the first chance I got, but I had to keep my dad's last name since I was still living with him. Not of my choice of course, but now maybe I can get my name changed for good."

"Hmm, rad." Forge said, yawning and stretching a bit.

"Whoa, that was a big one. When was the last time you slept?" I asked.

"Since April in 1978. I'd forgotten what it's like to be tired." Forge said, yawning again loudly.

"Why don't you sleep in my bed for tonight, I'll bunk with Kitty." I said, opening the covers of my bed and letting Forge in before tucking him in.

"Thanks Rip." Forge said, cozying up into the pillows on the head of the bed.

"It's no problem... Cuz." I said, putting another layer on him and switching the light off. "Now go to sleep. You've had a very tire making few decades." I backed up to the doorway and looked once more at Forge. "I'll be right down the hall if you need me."

"Okay." Forge said, yawning once more and cuddling into the pillows once more.

_"Aww, like a baby."_ I thought as I shut the door and walked down the hall to Kitty's room to see if I could bunk with her.

**Elsewhere **

An ominous figure was sitting on his chair, and he was in contact with a dark and sinister man with a dark and sinister purpose.

"You've promised me the boy and I still don't have him." A voice said.

"Patience my friend, he will be yours in all good time." The man said.

"Time is a luxury that I don't have. By this time in a year, if I don't have him in my grasp, there will be dire consequences. Not just for me, but for us both."

"Many things happen in a year, be calm. You will have the boy and I will have what I want by the time your plans come to fruition."

"They had better, for your sake Magneto." The voice said before the phone closed off. The figure, now known as Magneto, narrowed his eyes in annoyance before he dialed another number.

"Mystique, we need to reel him in now."

"I understand. What do you need me to do?" The blue skinned woman on the other line said as she listened to her instructions.

**The Next Morning **

I was in the bathroom getting ready for school with Kitty, who had just gotten out of the shower, and we were talking up a storm about Forge.

"So, how does it feel to have found out Forge is your cousin?" She asked.

"Honestly Kat, it's just too fucking weird. I mean it's not every day I find a long lost cousin, who should be old enough to be, like, my grandfather, and here he is now, old enough to be my older brother." I said.

"I know Rip, but if you look past the weirdness for a minute, you can see that there's someone else who's like you, and he's family so that kinda, like, makes it better you know?" Kitty said, putting in her favorite hair band.

"Yeah, I guess." I said, pulling out some sparkling purple nail polish. "Although I doubt he would luxuriate in the pleasures of nail polish."

"Probably not." Kitty said. I sighed a bit before beginning to paint my nails. "What's wrong?"

"Don't tell anyone this, but I...kind of almost crushed on him."

"Ew."

"Before I knew he was my cousin! Damn." I said, making Kitty laugh. "Anyway, back when we were in the Middleverse, he told me that he was totally okay with gay people. And I had hoped that I could maybe find someone to help me move on from Kyle, but even before I knew he was related to me I knew he was straight. And what's worse is that now I feel like... I really am alone." Kitty wrapped her arms around me.

"You're not alone, you got me, and everyone who lives here. You'll find someone Rip. You gotta, like, have faith." Kitty said.

"I'll try. Thank you Kitty." I said. Kitty kissed the back of my neck before letting me go.

"No prob Rip." She said. I smiled before finishing my nails and blowing on them to dry the paint. "Those are gorgeous. Could you do mine?"

"Sure, have a seat." I said. Kitty sat down on the closed toilet seat and I levitated in the air with my nail polish at hand. "Hand please." Kitty gave me her hand and I began painting her thumb. "So... any guys you have your eye on?"

"Not really. All the guys I mostly see around Bayville are mostly brain dead retards." She replied.

"Yeah, that's the problem with guys. Sometimes we don't know when we're being stupid." I said.

"Yeah, but I'm talking about, like, Bayville guys. They are just the biggest bunch of stupids, like, anywhere on a map." Kitty said.

"Yeah, I wonder why that is." I replied.

"Maybe it's how they're raised?" Kitty said.

"I'm not too sure about that, Scott seems really put together and from what I heard he has a great relationship with his foster parents. And Forge seemed like he had a nice relationship with his parents too. Lucky bastards." I finished Kitty's hand and moved on to her other hand. "Maybe it's in their genes."

"Oh my God, their jeans? Do you mean, like, in their pants? Like, their penis?" Kitty said. I looked up at her with a "really?" face. "What? What?"

"No, I mean, like, in their DNA." I said.

"Oh yeah, right. That's gotta be it. We're so smart."

"Pfft, yeah. 'We'." I said before Kitty playfully kneed my leg, making me laugh. "How about Lance?"

'What about Lance?" Kitty asked with a raised brow.

"I don't know, but if he wasn't so... Lance, maybe he could be a good someone for you."

"Uh uh. Like, hell no. The guy's, like, a total thug and a pig, and, like, totally gross!" Kitty said.

"Alright, alright. Just a thought girlfriend." I said.

_"Payback for giving me crap about Forge, what!"_ I thought as I finished Kitty's nails.

"There we are, all painted and ready to make people jelly." I said. Kitty looked at her nails and smiled at them. "You like em?"

"I love them!" Kitty said. I looked at her nails and then to her hair, and something about her hair didn't seem right with those nails.

"Here, one more thing." I said, removing Kitty's little hair band and letting her hair down. "Now do some of this." I began rocking my head around hard and Kitty mimicked my actions before we stopped. I then grabbed a brush and began to brush her hair a bit. "Now a few brush strokes and... Boom!" I turned Kitty around to face herself in the mirror and she gasped and smiled.

"Oh wow Ripley, thanks. You should, like, open a salon or something when you graduate." She said.

"Eh, I'll think about it." I said before someone knocked on the door.

"Hey, are you two done in there? Breakfast is served in ten minutes." Jean said.

"Coming!" Kitty and I said in tandem before we walked out of the bathroom.

"Wow Kitty, nice hair." Jean said.

"Thanks, Ripley styled it for me, along with our nails." Kitty said.

"Hmm. Could you do mine this evening Ripley? Scott and I are probably going out tonight." Jean said.

"Sure, just need to make sure my schedule will permit it." I said.

"What schedule?" Kitty asked.

"Exactly." I replied.

**Later **

_"Oh my God, this is so boring!"_ I thought as I sat through my math class. My other classes I didn't mind, save gym, but when it comes to math class, I find it to be the most boring class in the world. Mostly because the stuff we learn in that class are a bunch of useless equations and graphical figures most of us will probably never use in real life, plus the teacher I had was terrible with names and kept on calling me by my original name. I was just about to fall asleep when the intercom went off.

"Mr. Frederick? We need to see Ripley Davidson in the office please." The front desk lady said.

"Alright, he's on his way. Joshua?" The teacher said.

_"Thank God!"_ I thought as I stood up with my bag.

"And for the record, it's David Ripley, or just Ripley." I said before exiting the room.

_"For the fifth fucking time." _I thought as I went down the hall to Principal Darkholme's office. When I arrived, I greeted the woman at the front desk and knocked on the principal's door.

"Come in." She called out. I opened the door and there she was at her desk, smiling that little smile of hers.

"Hello Principal Darkholme." I said.

"How nice to see you Ripley. Please, come have a seat." I walked over to the chair in front of her desk and sat in it before putting my left leg over my other one. "Lovely paint job Ripley."

"Oh, thanks ma'am." I said, looking at my nails. "It's actually the first I've worn it in public. When I was a boy I would constantly use my mother's nail polish and paint them up in multiple colors. My parents would get so mad because I sometimes made a mess, but sometimes I would get a few congratulations from my mom, but with Carl he was still a bit irate with me. But I think he should've been a bit more grateful I wore sea foam green instead of his favorite, crack-whore red." I covered my mouth and gasped a bit. "Pardon my language ma'am."

"It's alright. I've come to learn that occasional profanity gives someone a certain sense of calmness and eases the nerves." Darkholme said.

_"Hmm, that explains a lot."_ I thought.

"So...what is it you wished to discuss with me?" I said.

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to chat with you. It's been a whole month since the incident, and the horrible tragedies of your father and poor Kyle, and I was hoping you'd be willing to talk."

"I've been rather distant from my actual feelings. I've tried to build up a wall of smiles, laughs, jokes, and sarcasm, when I'm actually feeling much, much worse inside behind the walls, and I fear that they may collapse at any moment. I've been facing turmoil, confusion, and I've recently found someone that maybe could've helped me move on from Kyle." I said.

"That's...wonderful." Darkholme said.

"Yeah, except at the practical moment we met, I found out he's actually my cousin, once removed." I said.

"Oh my. That must've been quite an awkward position." Darkholme said with an amused smile.

"Not really, I didn't say that I liked him, liked him, I just called him the coolest guy in the world. And family usually calls each other that, so I guess it's fine. I mean I'm glad I have family close by that isn't a total douche, but I just wish he wasn't my cousin, you know? Guess now I've got to move on yet again." Darkholme nodded and closed her eyes for a moment before leaning over her desk and staring me in the face.

"Kyle's funeral was just this last week, wasn't it?" She said.

"Yes ma'am." I replied.

"I wish I would've known about it, I would've loved to have paid my respects to Mr. Daniels."

"I'm sorry, but if you still wish to do so, I could show you to get to Kyle's grave sometime with a bundle or six of flowers." Darkholme straightened herself in her chair.

"I would like that." I smiled a bit before I sighed and wiggled around in the chair I was in."Ripley, Professor Xavier saved your life, did he not?"

"Yes, he did. Why?" I asked curiously. The discussion moved on rather quickly, and it's direction kind of surprised me. Darkholme stood up and looked outside her big windows.

"Because I was just thinking this morning about how Xavier is one of the most wealthy people in the country, all that money at his disposal and he couldn't get two special boys to his tender loving care. I guess when you spend it so freely and tend to other matters and businesses, you don't have enough to help more than one dying boy."

"What are you saying? He couldn't have saved Kyle, there was no way. Was there?" Darkholme turned back and walked back to me.

"I'm just asking you to leave an open mind to keep your friends close, but to always keep your enemies closer. You'll find where your loyalties truly lie, and who you can really trust."

"I-I'll think about it. Thank you." I said before I took in a deep breath and uncrossed my legs. "If there isn't anything else, may I leave?"

"Yes, of course." Darkholme said, holding out her hand. "It's been a pleasure speaking with you Mr. Ripley."

"Likewise ma'am." I said, accepting the hand and shaking it gently before grabbing my bag and heading back to class with a new and uneasy feeling developing in the pit of my stomach.

**Later **

The rest of the day passed right over me as I thought about Darkholme's words, and the unfortunate and chilling sense they made. All that power and support from maybe hundreds of companies, they could've done something more for Kyle than I could really care about what they could do for me, which made me wonder why they didn't... why Xavier didn't take Kyle in to help him, something I've been too sad and hurt to see. I walked out of the school at the end of the day and I was about to fly off when a girl with platinum blonde hair and sunglasses walked up to me.

"Hi there." She said, smiling.

"Hi." I said, smiling nervously at the young girl. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm running a school article about the peculiar things that have been happening after the explosion at that guy's house. No one really knows who's house it was, or they keep saying he died in the blast. But I've never seen you before then and I'm wondering if you knew anything."

"Well...I do know for a fact that there were two survivors, David Allen Ripley Davidson and his comatose boyfriend Kyle Daniels. However, due to brain trauma, Kyle died two weeks ago, leaving me behind to grieve and miss him deeply." I said. The girl gasped and removed her sunglasses, looking me up and down with widened eyes.

"Oh my God, you're him aren't you? You're Ripley." She said.

"Guilty as charged." I said.

"I'm Foxx, Foxx Haller." She said, shaking my hand enthusiastically. "I've literally been looking days for you dude. I've so many questions I need to ask you."

"I'm sorry, but I'm really not in the mood to answer personal questions for a stranger I just met." I said, walking away with Foxx following behind me.

"Please? Please? I wanna know what you think happened, how you felt, what you're feeling now. It could make a great impact at this school, it could show the true price of picking on someone who's different." Foxx said. I looked back at the girl who had a powerful and determined look of desperation, and my heart sank a bit. I couldn't say no to that sort of face.

"Ah, what the hell." I said. Foxx ran to me and wrapped me in a hug.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" She said.

"Umm, you're... welcome?" I said nervously. Foxx twitched a bit before she released me.

"Sorry." She said, clearing her throat and handing me a little card. "This is my phone number, if you want to call me up just in case you wanna reschedule. What do you say we meet tomorrow afternoon after school in the gym?" I grabbed the card from her hand and looked at its small golden letters and numerals.

"Okay." I said. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Okay." Foxx replied, walking away before stopping and turning around. "For what it's worth, I am so, so sorry about what happened to you. It must have been really hard losing your dad and your boyfriend like that so suddenly." She said.

"Thank you." I said calmly. Foxx smiled a bit before turning back around. I stared at this odd girl walking away before I heard someone calling me.

"Ripley!" Scott said, getting my attention. I turned around and saw Scott walking at me quickly.

"Hey Scott." I said. "How's your day been?

"It's been pretty busy, but I've got no homework tonight so I can go out with Jean tonight."

"Cool." I replied as we both walked on the sidewalk to the parking lot. "Do you wanna... do something with me tomorrow?"

"Sure, what do you have in mind?"

"Hmm, a few things..." I said, staring back at Scott's butt, making him flinch and chuckle a bit. "Just kidding, but I do have an interview with someone from the school newspaper about what happened to my house, and to Kyle." Scott raised a brow at me.

"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Scott asked.

"Yeah. I think it'd be good for people around here to understand my situation a bit and learn to be a little more empathetic to others. Plus I'd rather not be alone for it, mostly because the chick creeps me the hell out. She's nice, but fucking creepy, so if you're not too busy tomorrow, would you be willing to accompany me?" I said. Scott rubbed the back of his neck before looking at me. "Please? I'll give you a kiss if you say yes." Scott chuckled a moment before nodding a bit.

"Okay, alright."

"Yay!" I said, planting a kiss on Scott's cheek. "You're a total babe."

"I know. So when's this interview of yours again?"

"Tomorrow afternoon right after school."

"Okay, I'll try and make it." I smiled before looping my arm with Scott's and leading him right to the parking lot.

"Thanks Scotty." I said.

"You're welcome Rip, though maybe we should alter the truth a little, you know? Don't wanna get too much into detail."

"Duh. I'm so not ready to come out twice this year."

**The Next Day (Bayville High Gymnasium)**

It was the next day in the afternoon when the interview was to be had, and Scott was being all gentlemanly and escorting me to the gymnasium to meet Foxx. I could tell that he had his doubts about this little talk, but decided to put aside his doubts about it for my sake. When we got to the gym doors, Scott held the door open for me.

"Thanks." I said.

"Sure." Scott replied before he walked in with me. We both began looking around the gym for the mysterious young girl.

_"Hmm, for a chick who's been searching for me for so long, she doesn't seem too punctual in an interview with me."_ I thought before the doors opened sharply. Foxx stood in the doorway gasping and wheezing hard.

"You okay?" I asked. Foxx held up a finger, telling us to wait a moment before she took a big breath and sighed deeply.

"Sorry I'm late, some asshole tripped me over and I spilled my stuff all over the place. Anyway, I'm here so..." Foxx said before looking at Scott with a piercing glance. "Who's this?"

"This is my friend, Scott Summers." I said.

"It's nice to meet you Foxx." Scott said, extending his hand. Foxx looked at his hand for a few seconds before she accepted it and shook it gently.

"Likewise, I'm sure." She said before letting Scott go.

"I brought him for emotional support if you don't mind."

"No, not at all." Foxx said, pointing an arm towards the benches. "Won't you two have a seat?"

"Sure." I said.

"Okay." Scott said. We both sat down on the benches and Foxx sat down in between us, making Scott frown a bit. Foxx stared me right in the face for a while before I began to shiver and clear my throat.

"So...are we going to talk?" I asked.

"Okay let's cut the crap." Foxx said. "When you were rescued, which hospital did you go to so you could heal?" I was surprised at her sudden change in apparel from the skiddish young girl I only met yesterday to the pushy impossible wretch I was sitting with now.

"I, uh, actually didn't go to any hospital. Professor Xavier, the guy who owns the big mansion up the road, he has a lot of resources and power at arms length and he put a lot of time and energy into making sure I woke up." I said.

"Hmm, interesting. He didn't do the same thing for Kyle?" Foxx asked. My heart began to feel heavy as I searched for an answer. "Surly he could've done more."

"No, but there wasn't much he could do, that anyone could do. Kyle was essentially brain dead, and it would have taken years for him to heal if he didn't have an anurism, or whatever it was that happened to his brain." I said.

"But with all the money and resources at your professor's disposal, shouldn't he have been able to prolong Kyle's life or helped him wake up sooner?" Foxx said.

"Hey Foxx, could you maybe lighten up a bit please?" Scott said.

"I'm not sure... maybe? I don't know." I said, rather quickly.

"So you think Xavier could've tried harder? And if he did, would Kyle still be alive? Or would you be gone in his place?" Foxx asked. I went silent and couldn't find the strength to speak. "Why are you trying to cover for the secrets and the hypocrisies of this Xavier character Ripley? Did you even love Kyle?"

"That's enough!" Scott shouted, standing up and walking over to my left side. "There wasn't anything anyone could've done, there was an accident, and sometimes when they happen, people get hurt, and as much as anyone wants things to be different, they can't get better." I looked at Scott in his face and felt like he knew what he was talking about. Scott helped me up to my feet. "C'mon Ripley, we're done here. And as for you Foxx, I don't know what the hell your game is here, but you should be ashamed of yourself." Scott said, leading me away from the booth.

"You can't deny it Ripley, there's something fishy about your Professor." Foxx said as we exit the gym and closed the door.

"Man, you weren't kidding, she is a piece of work." Scott said. I kept silent as my insides flopped all over the place in my body as her barrage of questions kept shredding my mind. Scott looked at me with a raised brow. "Ripley?" I still kept silent and stared into space, hardly acknowledging him. Scott stepped in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Ripley look at me, talk to me, please. You're scaring me." I looked up at Scott, my heart quivering in my chest.

"I...I need to go." I said, walking away from Scott and toward the nearest exit door.

"Where are you going?" Scott asked.

"To get answers." I said, bounding off the ground and landing right onto the roof of the school. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the hospital where Kyle was, his old room in particular and heard the familiar wind rush by my ears as I felt my feet land on a new solid ground and the light of the sun dampen from under my eyelids. I opened my eyes and saw that I was inside of an empty hospital room, where I could only guess was Kyle's. I walked out of the room and walked down the hallway past a nurse who glanced at me in fear.

"It's you." She said, running over to the nearest intercom. She just about pushed the call button when I appeared in front of her and disconnected the microphone from the box. She backed up in fear of me. I recognized her as the nurse at the reception desk who I used my mind controlling abilities on

"Look miss..." I said, looking at the woman's name tag. "Jane, I'm sorry about before, about controlling you and using you to get information, but I really need to do so again. Only this time, I won't force you, but simply ask and beg of you to give me more information. Please. I need to know what really happened to someone." The nurse looked me in the face and nodded a bit.

"Okay, who's this someone?" Jane asked.

"Kyle Daniels, he was a patient here, suffered severe brain trauma from an explosion which left him comatose until a couple weeks ago he finally gave in and passed away. Who was the nurse taking care of him?"

"I don't know, uh...Betty Ross I think it was. Although for some reason she was replaced by a new recruit by Doctor Fox a day after Kyle was admitted."

"Why?"

"Budget cuts or some crap, I didn't really ask...or care for that matter."

"Why's that?"

"Because this new recruit he hired was a lazy and moody bitch who didn't seem to care for the patients at all. And then all out of the blue, she disappeared after the day when Kyle Daniels was proclaimed deceased by the coroner. Everyone was busting their asses to try and make up for the work this so called nurse ditched out on because everyone wanted to be sure that no one was slacking."

"Where is she now?" I asked furiously. The nurse shrugged her shoulders before I walked off to the side to catch my breath. "And Ross? Where is she now?"

"No one knows, she just disappeared a week after Kyle died. No one has seen her around in days." I clenched a fist and shook a bit in fury before I punched the nearest wall, causing the nurse to scream out a little. I felt myself sink into my fighter's sense and the world around me began to darken a bit.

"What kind of incompetence is running this hospital? How are all the current patients still alive here when your superior hires such slothful workers like that woman?"

"That's what I wondered, but when everyone asked Doctor Fox about it, he said he didn't have a clue what we were talking about." I clenched my fists as they burst into flames.

"You wretched incompetent fools!" I shouted as I vanished in a puff of blue fire and left the poor woman in the halls scared out of her mind at what just happened. I appeared outside and on top of a random building somewhere in town and walked over to the edge and leaned over on top of it as the tears began to flow.

_"How could these people get this so wrong?! They're supposed to save lives and prolong fading lives as long as possible, not sneak off like a snake in the grass!" _I thought as I cried. I looked up at the sky and I began to think about all the words spoken to me today, and all the things that were going through my mind about them. Xavier should have caught on to the hospital's lack of intelligent staff and workers, in fact, why didn't he take myself and Kyle? Why didn't Xavier take him in and save him and myself as Darkholme and Foxx had said? I screamed and slammed my fists on the side of the building, causing some cracks to appear and some little bits to fall to the ground below. I looked back up to the sky and let out a large grunt before vanishing from the rooftop.

**Later **

I was at the dinner table with the other X-Men, except Scott and Jean because they apparently decided to go out again tonight and Forge was still asleep somewhere, and I wasn't feeling any better than a few hours ago. I looked down at my plate of steak and mashed potatoes and played around with them a while before Kitty took notice of what I was doing, and the look of sadness that I didn't know was plastered on my face.

"Are you, like, okay Ripley?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, why?" I asked.

"Well you hardly touched your food, and you've just been poking at it."

"I'm fine." I put a piece of meat in my mouth and chewed on it quickly before swallowing. "See? Fine." Kitty raised a brow at me before going back to her own meal. I stared back at my plate before looking directly at Xavier. I felt my anger begin to boil again before I found the nerve to speak.

"Um... Professor?" I said.

"Yes Ripley?" Xavier replied.

"When my powers emerged, and after Scott, Jean, and Kurt saved me, how did I survive? How did I wake up on that bed in the med bay?"

"We had plenty of equipment here at the ready, and we used a great number of it to keep your heart beating and your body refreshed and healthy." Xavier said. I nodded my head with a kind of haughty look.

"Interesting. But Professor, why didn't you use those same machines to save Kyle as well?" I asked. Everyone looked at me with confused faces.

"What?" Xavier said.

"Why didn't you save my boyfriend and myself?" I said as my fist clenched under the table on my knee. "You had the money, the power, and the resources to do so, so why the hell didn't you save him?"

"Ripley, I don't..."

"You don't what? Have enough money to save an ordinary human, but you can only save a freak of nature?!" I said loudly. Everyone looked at me with surprised looks.

"Ripley." Logan said.

"Dude, what's gotten into you?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah Ripley, you're being kind of, like, rude." Kitty said.

"Well guys, I guess that today, I'm finally seeing things clearly for the first time." I said as I looked Xavier right in the face. "No one in this town, hell, this world cares about a damn thing in this world, not really, unless they really do care. The nurses and doctors couldn't care less if Kyle was dying or on his feet, they just shelved him off like a used plaything. And to me Professor, you're nothing better than them."

"There wasn't anything we could do for him. His mind was gone and I couldn't sense him anywhere amongst the debris. It was a miracle that the paramedics found Kyle when they did, and how long he managed to survive."

"Yeah, but you have more money, power, and more resources then any other person or hospital can grasp, so you could have made some sort of deal with the hospital to bring him here."

"Ripley, I couldn't...

"Couldn't what? You had me connected to machines and tubes and God knows what, but you couldn't be bothered to use the same shit on a regular human boy?"

"Rip!" Logan said.

"Is that how it is Xavier? You care for the poor little mutants, but really don't care about ordinary humans at all?"

"No Ripley, I do. But we couldn't risk anyone finding out about mutants before the world is ready."

"Oh to hell with the world! I would've done everything to save Kyle's life, to make sure his loved ones could be able to hold him in their arms again. All you care about is keeping me, and everyone in this house and all like us a secret! It's not about bringing humans and mutants together, it's about keeping us locked up and silent like some immoral thing, despite all that any of us have lost. Well guess what? I don't need any more of this secrecy and slothful thinking, and I don't need you messing around with my life. I'm out." I said, standing up from my seat and running out of the room.

"Ripley!" Kitty shouted. I teleported out of the foyer as I entered it and right to the entrance of my own room before entering and slamming the door behind me. I slid down to the floor and sobbed for a few seconds before I composed my emotions and quickly pulled a suitcase from my closet with my mind and setting it on the bed. I ran to my drawers and my closet and began stuffing as much as I could get into it before my door opened.

"Ripley?" A voice said. I glanced to my side and saw Forge standing in my doorway and rubbing his eyes. "What're you doing?"

"Come on Cuz, we're getting out of here." I said.

"What? Why?" Forge said.

"Because Xavier's a crock and a liar, and I don't care to be around him or live in the same house as him." I said, closing my suitcase and putting on a sweater. "I'll find a home for us, we'll stick out for each other, and I'll teach you all about the things of today so you can get up to speed. Now let's go." I grabbed Forge by his hand and pulled him into my room and towards the balcony.

"I can't Ripley." Forge said. I stopped walking and looked at him.

"You can't what?"

"Go, I can't go."

"And why not?"

"I'm not ready to go and face the world yet. It's too different, too complicated for me to grip. Maybe one day I'll be able to go out there, but for now I need to be here where I feel safe and secure from the future world out there."

"Well, I hope you enjoy your life as a plaything on a shelf." I said, grabbing my suit case. "Goodbye Forge." I flew off the balcony and rushed into the air at top speeds.

"Ripley!" Forge shouted. "Come back!" The other X-Men arrived at my door and walked in.

**(Normal POV)**

"Where's Ripley?" Logan said.

"He's gone, he took a bag with him and he flew out the window." Forge said. Logan looked down at the floor and saw a little card that I dropped. He picked it up and caught two very familiar scents, Ripley's, and someone else that he knew; an enemy.

"Everyone suit up, and someone call Scott and Jean, tell them what's happened. We move out now!" Logan said, making everyone scatter to their rooms to prepare for whatever was going to happen.

_"I hope we aren't too late." _Logan thought.

**(Ripley's POV)**

I was flying right through the now darkened city and trying to think of somewhere I could go, and also thinking about the things that happened, the things I learned today.

"Stupid doctors, stupid fucking nurses, stupid jocks, stupid professor, and stupid Bayville. I've fucking had it with this stupid fucking city." I said to myself before my phone began to ring. I reached into my pocket and looked at the caller ID. The number designation was an unknown number and I thought it was a wrong number or something, so I ignored the call and continued flying. After a couple minutes my phone rang again. I looked at the caller ID and it was still the same unknown number, so now I knew that someone was trying to get to me.

"Hello?" I said.

_"Hello, Ripley?" _The caller's voice replied. Though I hadn't known her for too long, I recognized this girl's voice.

"Foxx?"

_"Yeah, hi."_

"What do you want? Because now isn't a good time."

_"I wanted to apologize for my behavior before. I was told from the newspaper staff that I had to be solid and really demanding in an interview, make sure I get the whole thing, and I tried too hard. I'm really so sorry that I made you upset."_

"Oh, upset doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now."

_"I'm sorry Ripley, honestly and sincerely I am."_

"I know, I understand that, but I'm not completely irate at you. I've just got too much on my mind right now and I need to get away."

_"Meet me at the school, I think I've got something to help you with that." _

"I should hope that you do, because the way I'm feeling right now I expect something meaningful and/or nice."

_"Oh trust me, it will be." _The line suddenly closed. I put my phone away and set a course to the school.

**Later **

Foxx was pacing around the front of the school when a sudden stir in the wind made her ear twitch. She turned where the stir was coming from and saw me touch down to the ground and walk slowly towards her.

"So tell me." I said. "What is it that you have that can help me?" Foxx smiled before opening a door to the school.

"Come on in. We need to talk." She said. I raised a brow before I walked into the school and followed the girl in. We kept on going for a while before I felt the need to speak.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll soon see." Foxx replied. I decided to keep my mouth shut and wait for this "surprise" this chick had in store for me. I felt like I was plenty ready if it was anything bad and/or creepy this chick had, after all she was only a human girl and I was a powerhouse ready to explode, and the kind of mood that I was in, if she tried anything, I'd kill her without a second thought. After walking a while, we walked back into the gym where we had the interview earlier that day, and instantly I felt a gripping suspicion of things to happen. I stopped walking and lit a small flame in my hand.

"Okay, I'm not taking another step until you tell me what you need to show me." I said.

"Put the fire out David, I'm not going to hurt you or anything." Foxx said.

"Don't call me David. Only my close friends get to, and until you can prove otherwise, right now, you're nothing of the kind."

"Why would I hurt a fellow brother mutant? It's simply undignified." I raised my brow and widened my eyes for a few seconds before I put out my flames and walked closer to her.

"You're a mutant too?" I asked. Foxx smiled and nodded her head. "So...what do you do? Do you have any distinguishing features?" Foxx reached up to her shades, making me instinctively place myself in a battle pose.

"Calm yourself, I'm not gonna hurt you." She said, removing her glasses with closed eyes. I eased out of my pose slightly before she opened her eyes, making me gasp. Before, her eyes were blue with white sclera, but both her pupils and sclera were lemon and mustard yellow, which made me kind of cringe.

"What happened to your eyes? Before they were..."

"Average?" Foxx interrupted. I nodded my head. Foxx smiled and sat down on the front bleacher seat before pulling a small box from her pocket. She opened it up and flipped it around so I could see the contents. I walked closer to her and saw the inside of the box. Inside were two large contact lenses that were the same color of the eyes I saw earlier.

"Hmm, nice." I said.

"Thank you."

"Any powers?" Foxx stood up from the bleachers and walked over to the other side of the gym to the other bleachers. She looked back at me and winked before she growled loudly and kicked the bleachers hard into their slot with a loud bang, making me cover my ears. "Holy shit! That was awesome Fo..." Suddenly I noticed she was gone. I looked around before I felt someone tapping my shoulder. I turned around quickly with a fist at the ready, which Foxx caught in her iron grip. She smiled at me before she flipped me over onto my back, making me scream out.

_"Sonuva..."_ I thought before I tried to get up. Foxx walked next to me and pressed a foot on my chest, making me stand down.

"My strength and agility is more advanced than the average human's and I can lift approximately five to ten times the weight of those bleachers." Foxx said, pressing down on my chest a bit harder, making me wince. I looked at her with a fierce glare before I vanished from under her. Foxx widened her eyes in surprise before I grabbed her in a headlock and held her tightly in my grip.

"I have more power than I wish I could have, and simply producing fire and vanishing into thin air is just the tip of the iceberg sweetheart. So, whatever it is you have to show me, I suggest you show it to me before I change my mind." I said.

"Okay, okay. I'll show you what I need to show you, but first could you put us down?" Foxx said. I looked down and saw that I had put us both high in the air and was just about to touch the ceiling.

_"Well fuck." _I thought. I lowered us down to the floor right next to the bleachers.

"Sit, please." I said. Foxx smiled before she and I sat down. "Alright Haller, talk before I lose my sense of patience."

"Alright. First, I have a confession. I wanna be honest with you. I didn't want an interview with you, I'm not a member of the newspaper staff, hell, I don't even go to this school." Foxx said.

"Then why did you approach me?"

"Because I wanted to ask you to I'm to join me. To run away with me and leave this place." I widened my eyes in surprise before a snide smirk spread across my face.

"You're wasting your time kid, I'm not bisexual." I said.

"Not 'running away' like that." Foxx said frustratingly. "Running away like to someone who you can really trust, someone who can really help you with your powers, with anything else."

"I'm not sure about trusting people now. Everyone seems to be kind of hard to believe in right now."

"You can trust me. Please, I want you to trust me."

"Why?"

"So that I won't be alone." Foxx grabbed my knee, making me twitch a bit. "Someone closer to my age, someone I can relate to." I looked at her face, and I felt a twinge of guilt or something else...maybe relative empathic sadness.

"Foxx, I..."

"Get the hell away from him!" Someone shouted. I looked over to the source of the voice and saw Wolverine standing in the doorway.

"Oh look, a so called friend came."

"Go away Logan!" I said.

"Bub, does the mask mean anything to you?" He said.

"Sorry, but just...go away."

"No goddamn way. And you need to get away from her. I don't know what she told you, but we're not gonna let her take you away from us where you belong."

"We?"

"Yeah, we." Cyclops said, stepping into the room before everyone else followed inroads the gym in their own unique fashion.

"Well, the gang's all here." Foxx said, standing up from her seat.

"Get away from me!" I said loudly.

"Ripley, please, whatever is going on, we can help you." Jean said.

"Yeah? Can you spin around the world and turn back time like Superman? Can you bring Kyle back to me?" I said. Everyone went silent for a couple minutes before I spoke up. "Thought so. So why don't you just leave!" I shot a barrage of flames at the X-Men to try and get them to move away, but Jean had put up a large field around them, causing my flames to slough away from them.

"Ripley, we know that you're hurting, but think for a second okay? Kyle was brain dead and without any chance of waking up. His body had to have given up on him sometime. When someone's mind dies, there's no chance that they would ever wake up, and if they did, they would never be who they once were again." Cyclops said.

"Don't listen to them Ripley, they're not the people you should trust." Foxx said.

"Ripley please." Someone said gently. I looked behind the group and saw Forge emerging out from the masses. "Please come home. You're the only family I have left and I don't want to lose you. None of us do. We love you, man." I stopped thinking for a moment and looked Forge in the face and felt my heart soften. I then looked to Scott who had a similar look of desperation, and then it hit me. I knew that Scott wouldn't lie to me and I knew that he always does what was right. Hell, all of them did, and for God's sake I've lived with all of them. They all genuinely care for me and all who they've come to know, and everyone they have yet to know. Foxx stepped behind me and leaned in close to my ear.

"Do it Ripley, destroy them and come to the better side. The side that cares." Foxx whispered. My fists clenched up and I spun around quickly towards the young girl.

"No!" I said, grabbing Foxx by her head. "These people are my friends, and for fuck's sake I don't know who the hell you think you are. You've done nothing but loosely insult my relationship with Kyle and lie to me. I trust them with my life, and only an idiot would be stupid enough to not do so. I don't trust you at all, I don't know you, but I'm gonna find out." I unleashed a psychic barrage on the girl, and tons of information filled my head, but mostly names and plans referring to me and the X-Men. One memory stood out among the mess and I felt myself appear in a large warehouse or something with machines and tubes everywhere.

_"Mr. Davidson must be made fully aware of who he really is if our allies are to deliver their part of the bargain and deliver what we need for our plans." _A mysterious figure said.

_"I'll do what you need me to do." _ A woman's voice said.

_"Mr. Davidson's abilities are based on emotions, and a rise in his power comes from massive internal conflict. Which is why we must turn our attention to his lover, Kyle Daniels." _I suddenly unlatched myself from the girl's mind and nearly fell back if I hadn't been so angry and upset. This girl had been trying to deceive me, and now I knew her true identity. "Foxx" rubbed her head and let out a few groaning noises as I walked closely to her.

"You're the shapeshifter who used the X-Men's faces to scare Rogue and make her hate us." I said as I grabbed the girl by the throat. "You used my face." I held her high above the ground and clenched my hand a bit, making her choke. "My face, that chased the one I loved away and the one that killed him, or so I thought, to manipulate a scared and helpless girl. But what really gets me is this..." My head burst into flame as I glared at the blue haired girl with white hot tears flowing down my face.

**"What the fuck do you have to do with Kyle's death Foxx?!"** I said in my darker voice asI flung the girl away from me and into a wall, who slid down and went down with a thud, coughing hard to try and catch her breath. **"Or should I call you Mystique?"** Foxx leered at me as her form changed into an older woman with blue skin, pale eyes, and deep red hair with a white sash and boots.

"How clever of you Ripley." Mystique said. "But you don't have the full truth, not yet. Like all the things Charles Xavier is keeping locked up in his little vault."

**"I don't care about him! I wouldn't care less if he had some stupid wheelchair with an expandable pleasure wand on the seat, I want to know what you did to Kyle!"** I shouted, walking forward, leaving smoldering footprints with each step.

"Ripley, don't!" Shadowcat shouted, running towards me. Wolverine stood in front of her and held her back.

"Let Rip have it out. He'll let his anger out on her, but won't do it." He said. I kept advancing towards Mystique with my flames getting more and more intense and hot with each step.

**"Tell me right now!"** I shouted. Mystique looked around herself for a while before she looked me in the eye with a smile.

"Another day soon my dear, another day." She said before a white blur suddenly appeared before me and pushed me aside before it rushed around Mystique and disappeared with her. I stood up and saw that Mystique was gone.

**"No!"** I shouted before looking all around me.** "Mystique! Where are you, you cowardly, apathetic, motherless bitch! Show yourself!" ** No response came, which caused me to scream out in a rage, making streams of blue fire launching from my hands and head and into the skylight, causing it to shatter. When my fires reached outside, they rushed into the sky and created a large pillar of light that rivaled the intensity of the sun. Back inside the gym, Jean had put up another shield to protect everyone from the scattering broken glass, while the rest of it dissolved and broke apart into the air. I screamed out once as the ground around me began to tremble.

"Everyone out! Now!" Wolverine shouted, backing everyone up into the halls.

"We gotta stop him. He's gonna go nuclear if he keeps this up." Cyclops said.

"Get everyone out of here Cyclops, I got this." Wolverine said.

"He'll fry you man." Nightcrawler said.

"Yeah, but I can heal faster than he can burn me to a crisp. I'll be fine. Now go!" Cyclops nodded.

"You heard the man people, let's move!" Everyone followed Cyclops to the nearest exit. When they left, Wolverine walked back into the gym and was blasted by the large amount of heat my body was generating, which also began to burn away his uniform and some of his skin. Sloughing the horrible pain off, he began walking towards me, slowly and carefully so that he wouldn't trip up.

"Rip!" He shouted. "Rip, listen at me! You gotta shut it down now!" I looked to my left and stared Logan right in his burning masked face as a tear began to flow down my cheek.

**"Kill me."** I said.

"What?"

**"Kill me before I kill someone, please Logan."** I begged.

"Ripley, no, look at me. Focus on me!" I looked back into the sky and I felt all of my will leave my body and into the night.

"I'm sorry kid." Wolverine said as he chopped the back of my neck. My flames died down as I crashed into the man's arms with a loud grunt before everything went dark.

**Later **

"Ripley? Ripley, wake up." A voice said. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Scott looming over me alongside the younger X-Men. I held my head in my hands and sat up before realizing I was in my bed.

"Scott?" I said before grimacing and rubbing my head. "Ow, what happened?"

"You don't remember? You, like, went all psycho and stuff." Kitty said.

"I..." Suddenly the veil lofted from my mind and I remembered what happened. "Oh God, where's Logan?"

"Right here Rip." Logan said, walking up to me. I looked at all the burnt holes and marks on his uniform and remembered that he was burning up like a moth to a flame. I reached out to him and grabbed his hand.

"Logan, are you okay?"

"I've been through worse, I'm alright." I released his hand and looked around at everyone else.

"How's everyone else?" I asked.

"We're fine, nothing hurt." Kurt said. I laid my head back onto my pillow and rubbed my forehead.

"God, what was up with me tonight."

"Maybe when Mystique kept on going about Kyle, it activated your fighter's sense." Jean said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, because the only time any of us have seen you like that, it was only when your power was active. And she must have kept picking at it and picking at it until you couldn't tell what was right or wrong." Evan said.

"Yeah, maybe." I said. I then looked to my other side and saw Forge standing beside my bed.

"Forge." I said, sitting up. Forge sat down next to me and wrapped me in a hug. "I'm so sorry for running away. It was stupid and selfish of me, I shouldn't have ran away and left you alone."

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're alright."

"Me too Cuz." I looked over his shoulder and saw Xavier rolling in on his chair towards me.

"Professor." I said, standing up and backing up a couple steps when I saw that he had a tear in his eye. "I'm so sorry for what I said, it was out of place and really low of me."

"No Ripley, you were right." Xavier said. "There was so much I could've done for Kyle, the same things I've done for you, but I let him go and forced you to stay with us to watch him suffer."

"No, I read Mystique's mind. She was conspiring to get me to join her side, and she was told to do whatever was necessary to do so. I fear that she may have done something to Kyle, or helped in doing something to him, I'm not sure. Her mind's a big jumbled mess, I couldn't get all of it, but I know for sure that Kyle's death had nothing to do with you. He would've died sooner or later if she didn't do...whatever she did. You did what you could, and you saved who you could, and I am so, so grateful that you saved me." I said as I grabbed his hands and rubbed them with my thumbs. "And I am so sorry that I made you feel responsible Professor. And I am so sorry that I was so ungrateful. I do trust you, and I know now that while we're mutants with power over others, like those others, we're only human. We can only do so much. And thank you, again, for doing what you could for me." Xavier smiled as he opened his arms to me. I went to him and wrapped him in a hug before sighing deeply.

**Elsewhere **

Quicksilver had brought Mystique back to the Brotherhood House and was leaning on the nearest wall, leering at her.

"Well, that could've been bad." Quicksilver said. Mystique frowned deeply before pounding the nearest wall with a loud grunt. "Whoa boss lady, there's always next time you know." Mystique looked back to the white haired teen with a frightening glare, making him flinch. She was about to hit him before she calmed herself and looked out into the sky.

"Yes...next time my dear." She said.

**Elsewhere**

"Master..."

**"I know my friend, I've felt it too. The Scion's power is steadily increasing, soon he'll realize who he truly is."**

"I suspect the work of our enemy at work here. He seems to have made allies with similar goals of conquest."

**"Yes, we must locate and defeat these allies before the boy is fully aware. You know what to do Strange."** The man at the calling end emerged from the darkness of his chambers and donned his red cloak with yellow trim.

"Yes my master."

**End of Chapter 31**

**A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I am beat. I'll try to come out with chapters sooner and I'll try to move a bit faster. And one more thing, I've noticed that I lost a couple followers and favorites on this story and I don't know what that's about, but I'm just gonna say this. If you've lost interest in the story and you want to forget and unfollow it, fine, I'm not your mother and I can't stop you from unfollowing or unfavoriting, but if you're just following and favoriting it just to wait for the next chapter instead of enjoying what's already there until the next chapter comes, it really discourages me, and it hurts Ripley's feelings. So please, please favorite this story because you love reading it, not just because you love waiting for it to continue, and stay tuned for the next phase in the story. Thank you. Peace!**


	32. Chapter 32

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 32: Turn of the Rogue **

In the pale dark of night, a warehouse laid stationed in the docks, precious cargo inside being guarded by round the clock patrolmen. One of these patrolmen was a woman with white hair and delicate features, and while she walked around a corner, the X-Man, or girl, codenamed Shadowcat emerged from the ground like a ghost and silently walked towards the guard. She turned around to see what the noises were before the young assailant sprayed her in the face with a noxious gas, causing her to pass out. Shadowcat smiled at her success and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"North perimeter secured." Shadowcat said. Meanwhile, another guard, an older man with big muscles, a charming grin, and short black hair was patrolling the opposite side of the warehouse. As he walked, above him leered the X-Man codenamed as Spyke, who was known for the bony spikes he was using to adhere himself to the brick wall. He jumped down from his perch point right behind the man, startling him just long enough to spray him with another can of knock out gas.

"This guy's catching Zs...I mean, south perimeter secured." Spyke said, holding up a walkie-talkie.

"Good, then let's make this a smooth rescue." A voice responded. Inside of the warehouse, a large series of red lasers laid scattered across the walls hung over an unconscious looking figure, who was chained to a wooden support beam. Suddenly out of nowhere, a puff of smoke and a smell of brimstone filled the air as the X-Men field leader Cyclops and the blue, fuzzy elf-like mutant Nightcrawler appeared over the lasers, but began to fall as soon as they entered the space.

"Jean!" Cyclops said. A force suddenly stopped their decent and from outside, Cyclops' red haired girlfriend Jean Grey held her temples to concentrate on her power.

"Sorry, you guys are heavy." Jean said, lowering the boys closer to their captured comrade.

"Storm? Storm!" Cyclops said. The woman didn't move. "She's out." Cyclops put a hand on his visor and opened it up, unleashing a barrage of small streams of his optic blasts at the chains binding Storm, but missed every time.

"Nice aim." Nightcrawler said with a sarcastic smirk. Cyclops frowned before taking one more shot at the chain, which connected and shattered the chain. The boys both smiled in victory before giving each other high-fives.

"Yes!" They both said. Suddenly they began to fall, but then stopped as soon as they dropped.

"Which one of your guys has been putting on weight? I can hardly hold you." Jean said, shaking under the strain.

"It's Nightcrawler. Burgers seven days a week will do that to a fella." Cyclops said.

"Ah, the breakfast of mutants." Nightcrawler said. Outside where Jean was, a mysterious figure crept up behind her, treading closer and closer, and becoming more silent, more cunning, and more deadly with every step.

"Found you bitch!" The figure said, startling Jean and causing the boys inside the warehouse to fall through the lasers, setting off the alarm and shutting them down. Cyclops helped Nightcrawler up and walked over to Storm.

"Let's grab her and port out of here." Cyclops said, reaching down to the woman, who grabbed at his wrist and unveiled her face.

"Gotcha!" The pale looking girl said. Cyclops gasped in shock, she wasn't Storm. She was Rogue, the mutant girl who's touch can drain everything out of you and make her own. Rogue smiled before touching Cyclops' face. Her eyes began to glow with the same red energy as Cyclops' optic blasts as she blasted Nightcrawler away from the both of them.

"Hold it! Hold it! Stop the simulation!" Cyclops shouted as the lights came on. From behind the elevator door leading to the Danger Room, Charles Xavier rolled in with his wheelchair with Spyke, Shadowcat, Jean Grey and the real Storm and Logan walking alongside him in their warehouse guard disguises.

"Scott, you are never to stop the simulation unless you are hurt." Xavier said.

"Trust me, that hurt." Nightcrawler said, rubbing his chest where the blast hit him.

"Why is Rogue in this mockup?" Cyclops asked.

"Because I suggested it." A black haired young man said, flying in behind Cyclops.

**(Ripley's POV) **

"What? Why?" Scott asked.

"So you all could learn the element of surprise, it's a part of life and you always should be ready for it. Ripley was brilliant to suggest we bring in Rogue as part of today's simulation." Xavier said.

"Aww, you're making me blush. And you're welcome stud." I said, leaning an arm on Cyclops' shoulder, which he brushed off crossly.

"Anyway, we are finished. You should get to school." Xavier said, rolling away. Scott looked at Rogue, who was now laying down on the floor, and clenched a fist angrily.

"Come on Jean, Ripley." Scott said. "We gotta help Rudetski pack for the field trip." Jean looked at Scott with a worried look before looking to me.

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up." I said.

"Okay, try not to be late." Jean said.

"Yes ma'am." I said as Jean walked off. I turned back around to Rouge and bent down to her level with my forearm extended. "You okay? You need a hand up?"

"No. Thanks, but Ah'm okay." Rogue said, standing up on her own. "Whenever Ah us mah powers, Ah get a little lightheaded, but it wears off after a couple minutes."

"You know...you scared the hell out of Scott." I said.

"Hmph, sorry." She said with a huff.

"Don't be, it was fantastic." I said. Rogue looked at me with a surprised look before I looked at my watch. "Ooh man, I'm gonna be late. Would you like a ride to school? I could have us there in literally, like, two seconds."

"Thanks, but Ah'd rather just let mahself out." Rogue said, walking to the elevator.

"Alright, see you at school...I guess." I said, teleporting to my room to get packed for the field trip to the mountains today. It was a couple days after the incident with Mystique, and while I was putting on a brave face and trying to move on, I was still a bit shaken up. Not with fear necessarily for myself, but for her. I was utterly convinced by the images I pulled from her mind that she had something to do with Kyle's death, and I was scared of what I would do if I saw her again. I wanted to be the better person, be the person who wouldn't hurt anyone unless I needed to protect myself or my friends instead of the sake of violence, but I couldn't help but feel my heart burning with the burning need to make the horrible woman suffer, slowly. And what's worse about this is that she still had Rogue on her side, and I wish so hard that the goth could see just the kind of person I knew Mystique to be. But unfortunately, I had to move on and let her come to us, and if she ever did, I'd never know, and that scared me. Shaking my head and the gloomies away, I packed the final objects of my survival pack for the field trip today and ran out of my room to Scott's car.

**Bayville High School **

"Alright, double check your splunking gear!" Mr. Rudetski, the geology teacher, shouted out. I don't have Rudetski's geology class the same period as Jean and Scott do, but today he was going to take all four of his classes on a field trip to study the rocks and caves up there, while also do a little splunking and exploring. I personally can't stand the outdoors at all, not after a really bad encounter with a goat on Carl's stupid birthday campout, but I was excited to at least share this outdoor experience with two of my closest friends. "Make sure your packs contain a hard hat, light boots, rope, compass, rations, lamps, and matches."

_"How about a dead tauntaun for us to crawl into for warmth?" _I thought as I put my pack into the bus.

"And remember, there are no sporting goods stores in the Gapo Cave." Rudetski said. "Oh, and I'd better not see any game toys!"

"Aww man." Everyone said, including myself. I knew how stingy this guy was towards electronic devices in class, and I completely forgot that for today that an entire mountain range was going to be his classroom, and I didn't want to lose another phone. While I dug my phone out of my pocket, Jean and Scott were discussing the training simulation this morning.

**(Normal POV)**

"So he threw off your game by sticking Rogue in the simulation, what's the big deal?" Jean said.

"Me fouling up isn't the problem." Scott answered.

"Then...what? Because Ripley chose Rogue for the surprise and the Professor went along with it?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, kind of I guess. Look, how can we be her enemy in battle in battle simulations when we're trying to be her friends? If we don't think of her as a friend, she'll never wanna join us." Jean put a hand on Scott's cheek to comfort him.

"Hey, it was only a simulation Scott. No one wants you to stop trying with Rogue." Jean said. Off to the side of the teenage lovers, the school principal, Raven Darkholme, known secretly to others as the shapeshifting mutant named Mystique, listened closely to the conversation before a young man with black hair jogged to the couple.

**(Ripley's POV)**

"Hey, could you guys try to hold my seat for a while? Rudetski just put the iron rule of no gaming systems, and if he won't allow gaming systems on the trip, he probably won't allow me to bring my phone." I said.

"Sure Rip, we'll hopefully be here when you get back." Scott said, smirking.

"Thanks for the word of confidence." I said sarcastically. "But I can be back and forth between here and my locker in two minutes flat." I walked around the two before stopping.

"Scott?" I said.

"Yeah Ripley?" Scott said.

"I'm sorry if I upset you this morning. I just wanted to help the team, and it wasn't my intention to upset you. So again with the sorry." I said. Scott sighed before smiling at me.

"It's fine Rip. Now hurry and get to your locker and come back before we're gone." Scott said.

"Alright, thanks dude." I said as I teleported to the restroom close by where my locker should be, and exited the bathroom before passing by the school's other workout room. A few noises began to erupt from there, like someone was working really hard to get fit or something, and I recognized that someone's voice. It sounded like Rogue was really working up a sweat in there, probably to relieve some of the tension in the Danger Room this morning. I didn't know if I should've gone in and talked to her or leave her alone to her rigorous training, but I had to leave in a few minutes and I didn't want to be late. I walked away to my locker and quickly opened it up to see the picture of Kyle and I hanging on the inside of the door. I always take this picture around with me wherever I go so that I'll always feel like Kyle is right there for me when I needed him.

"Hey babe, sorry to come and go like this, but I just need to drop something off really quick." I said, putting my phone inside and tracing my fingers alongside the image of Kyle's cheek. "I'll be back soon, okay?" I kissed my fingertips and touched them to the image of Kyle's lips. "Love you." I closed my locker, and right there from the middle of nowhere in front of me was principal Darkholme.

"Jesus!" I said, making her flinch. I gave a few breaths before I laughed under my breath. "Principal Darkholme, you startled me."

"I'm sorry Mister Ripley." Principal Darkholme said with a little smile. "Aren't you supposed to be on a field trip by now?"

"Yeah, it's just that Mr. Rudetski just told us that he wouldn't allow electronic gaming systems to the mountains, not that I have any, but I figured he wouldn't allow people to have their cell phones as well, with all the games I've never heard of on them, so I'm just bringing my phone back to my locker for safekeeping."

"How perceptive of you." Darkholme said before looking around me. "Were you talking to someone?"

"No, and yes. I have an old picture of Kyle and I in my locker, and since it's kind of the only image, or anything, I have left of him, I sometimes talk to it as if he were still here, you know?" I said.

"Mmm." Darkholme said.

"It's weird isn't it?"

"Oh no my dear boy, not at all. It is just of the grieving process, we all do it when we lose someone close to our hearts. It's as normal as the hair on your head." Darkholme said. I smiled and rubbed the back of my head.

"Considering my hair used to be brown though... Oh just take the comforting expression you big baby!" I thought.

"Anyways, I wasn't skipping classes or anything, I swear." I said.

"I believe you, now you should hurry along before you miss your bus." Darkholme said.

"Yes ma'am. See you later!" I said as I ran down the halls, with Darkholme smirking behind me as I ran as she walked into the workout room.

**Outside**

Jean and Scott were outside loading their stuff into the bus when Jean saw me approaching them at a rapid pace.

"Ripley!" Jean said, waving at me. I kept on going until I screeched to a stop right in front of the couple. I put my head in between my knees before straightening myself out.

"What happened to teleporting there and back in two minutes flat?" Scott asked.

"Principal Darkholme was out in the halls, and I realized I couldn't let anyone see me come or go like I planned, so I had to run." I said as the air flushed out of my lungs. "Whoo! Maybe I should move lockers every time there's a field trip." Jean and Scott laughed as Mr. Rudetski walked up to us.

"Jean?" He said. We all looked to him. "Bad news."

"What is it?" Jean asked.

"It seems that administration has called your time off for the field trip. Something about too many absent T-Days in your file."

"What?" I said.

"Whoa, wait a second. Those were all approved!" Scott said.

"If they'd just call Professor Xavier, he'll..." Jean said.

"I'm wish we had the time Jean, but they already filled your spot." Rudetski's said. "I promise we'll clear this up when I get back."

"Damn." I said to myself. Jean had a really down looking expression on her face, I could tell that she was really bummed about not being able to attend the trip with her friends.

"Hey, I'm really sorry." Rudetski said.

"Yeah, well...have fun." Jean said, grabbing her pack from the bus and walking away.

"Aw man, that sucks." Scott said. "Who filled her spot?"

"A new student." Rudetski pointed his thumb to the bus door. Scott and I looked over and saw Rogue walking into the bus. She stopped for a moment to give us a little smile before entering the bus all the way.

"Alright students, get it in gear! We're behind schedule." Rudetski said. I looked at Scott, who had a mildly angry expression on his face.

"Hey, so Jean can't come, it sucks total crap, but at least we have each other, right?" I said. Scott just sighed under his breath. "Plus...now is a perfect time as ever to try and make friends."

I guess." Scott said.

"Come on Scotty." I said as I tugged on his arm and dragged him to the bus.

**Xavier Institute **

Outside of the institute, the winds were beginning to pick up from an upcoming storm in the higher altitudes, while on the inside, in his room, Charles Xavier was writing his murals and paying a few bills when he heard a strange noise from outside. He looked at the large window and felt a twinge of curiosity as to what the noise was before his chair began to move around by itself.

"Magneto!" Xavier said, trying to gain control over his chair. "Why are you here?"

"I've come to pay your compliment." An ominous voice said. "Your young charges, they seem to be...flourishing under your tutelage."

"Yes, they're doing quite well." Xavier replied.

"I'm referring to their mutant powers."

"I'm very proud of them."

"Proud, yet you do not trust them."

"But I do trust them, with my life!"

"But not with the truth!" Xavier's chair rushed him to the windows and crashed into them as they closed, shattering them. Xavier composed himself to see a cloaked figure disappear in a puff of wind.

**In the Mountains **

On the bus ride to the mountains, Scott and I were sitting on the same bus seat. While it wasn't exactly romantic as I thought our first time alone together would be, what with all the other people in the cramped bus we were in, it was still kinda nice. Although... I had hoped Jean would've been able to accompany us, we didn't really have enough time to hang together.

"Would it help your attitude if I leaned on your shoulder like Jean does sometimes?" I said.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Oh wonderful, it's starting to snow." Rudetski said. Everyone cheered out in excitement.

"Alright, fresh powder!" Paul shouted out.

"This isn't a snowmobile trip Paul. If we start seeing too much of the white stuff, we may need to turn around." The cheering stopped abruptly and was replaced with whines and groans.

"Hmm, seems you were all bummed out for nothing. Now you and Jean can miss out on the field trip...together." I said , holding my hands together in the shape of a heart. Scott smiled and bumped my shoulder playfully, making me laugh. Neither of us saw, but in the far backseat, Rogue was staring at the both of us with a dangerous angry face. After a while of driving, snow was still falling down which probably meant we would have to return to the school, which honestly would suck so hard, but better safe than sorry I suppose. Suddenly a sharp bend in the road came into view. Rudetski slowed the bus down as slowly as he could so he could make the turn, when suddenly the bus began to swerve on the snow covered ground, rocking everyone in their seats back and forth.

"Hold on!" The teacher called out, struggling to gain back control of the bus. Everyone was panicking and screaming as we continued to swerve around. I looked out the window and saw that we were looking dangerously close to the edge of the cliffside the road was built on and leaned next to Scott.

"Scott, we need to do something." I said, removing my coat and shirt.

"What're you doing?" Scott asked.

"No time. Just get ready to fire." I reached into the coat pocket and pulled out a ski mask efore putting it on and teleporting a few feet behind the bus. When I was outside, my body began to shiver tremendously.

"Brr, should've at least left a the shirt on." I thought before I sped towards the bus. I flew in just beneath the windows and kept close to the bus to try and guide it the best I could. Suddenly it skidded sharply in one direction and it wouldn't stop. I pressed on the side of the bus and pushed it as hard as I could, but it was still moving in fast to the edge.

"Scott, now!" I shouted telepathically. Scott nodded and opened the window before moving his shades below his eyes before he opened them, sending a thick stream of his optic blasts at the ground behind me, creating a large, thick snow bank. The bus hit the bank and began to tip over some, causing everyone to scream out fearfully. I flew over to the other side of the bus and began to push on the edge of the roof. After a couple motionless seconds, the bus was on all four wheels and finally at a complete stop. I let out a deep sigh of relief before teleporting back to my seat in the bus next to Scott, startling him.

"Y-you ok-kay Scott?" I said shakily.

"Yeah." He answered as I quickly put my shirt and coat. I looked back to Rogue with a cold smile.

"Y-you okay R-Rogue?" I stammered. Rogue looked at me with a sort of surprised expression and at Scott before she smiled and nodded at me. "Good, because I'm never taking my shirt off in public again."

"Is everyone alright?" Rudetski asked, standing up from the bus seat. Everyone

"I think I bruised a rib." I said, lifting up my shirt. "What do you think Scott?"

"It's nothing, just a little flesh wound. Nothing to worry about." He said.

"What do we do now?" Paul asked.

"Now we go back." He said. Everyone groaned out at once before Rudetski started up the bus and tried to move, but the wheels kept spinning in their place in the snowy gravel and wouldn't move. "Alright people, now who wants to hop out and push?" Rogue suddenly stood up and walked to the center of the bus.

"Mr. Rudetski? Why don't we take our snowmobiles to the cave and wait out the weather there?" She said. Her idea got everyone excited and pumped up.

"Ooh, I love that idea." I said.

"Good call." Paul said.

"Yeah!" Another student said. Everyone continued to cheer and support the idea while Rudetski held his face in his hands and grunted.

"Alright, fine. Come on everyone, grab a partner, take a vehicle, and follow me." He said, standing up and walking outside with everyone following behind him at once. "Single file, single file!"

**Later**

We were all riding a snowmobile, two to each vehicle, and speeding on our marry way to the caves. I never driven a snowmobile before that day, so I had to download how to do so from Rudetski's mind, and I was enjoying myself immensely. The only problem was I had to have the clingy and frightened little kid of the class clutching onto my body.

"Can you maybe loosen your grip a bit?" I said to the kid.

"Nuh-uh, not until the ride's over." He said.

"It's gonna be over for you sooner if you don't loosen your grip!" He loosened up a bit after that, but then suddenly Rogue drove up beside us.

"Test your metal, boys?" Rogue said.

"No, no, no racing." Her female passenger said.

"No thanks, I already got a challenge lined up for me." I said looking back to my passenger.

"You're on." Scott said.

"Pfft, figures." I thought as the two sped off ahead of us. In a matter of seconds, they were gone up and over the hill, but I could still hear the screams of their passengers echoing across the air. I laughed under my breath as I continued on and reached the top of the hill. When I began my decent, I saw Rogue and Scott driving side by side.

"Come on Scott, go man! She's gaining on you!" I shouted. Rogue suddenly began to slow down and match her speed to Scott's before she rammed his side, moving him and Paul closer to the edge. "Whoa!" I revved my snowmobile to the maximum speed as my passenger squeezed onto my body really hard. I was just about to catch up to them when Rogue bashed against Scott's snowmobile again, and caused him to tip over.

"Ah!" The boys shouted as Rogue sped away. I drove in next to them and with a little gesture of my hand, I made their snowmobile lean back upright. We drove on a few more feet before we stopped.

"Are you guys okay?" I said.

"Yeah, but man, that girl is so rough."

"Yeah." Scott said, looking to where Rogue was headed. "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know, but I'm hella gonna find out!" I said as I revved my engine to the maximum and sped off quickly, causing my passenger to scream like a little girl. I kept on going for a few minutes before I saw the entrance to a large cavern, with Rogue standing near it and her passenger off to the side and throwing up. I stopped my snowmobile close to the entrance before stepping off, removing my helmet, and walking over to Rogue quickly.

"What the hell is your problem?" I said.

"What? You didn't have a problem with meh scarin' Mr. Tough Guy before." She replied.

"Scaring him is one thing, but almost killing him and another person is another thing! Why did you do that? Did you think about what it would do to Paul's parents of they lost him? What it would do to me? To everyone at the Xavier Institute?!" Rogue kept silent and looked behind me and saw Scott driving in towards us.

"No trophies for third place." She said. Scott removed his helmet and walked towards us.

"How'd a southern gal like you learn to handle a snowmobile?" He said. Rogue walked past me and walked closely to him.

"Lets just say I'm full of surprises." She said, running a gloved finger under his chin. She walked by me with a kind of guilty look before going into the cave. Scott walked up beside me and stopped.

"Rip..." He said.

"Ugh, I can't believe her. She seemed so cool, but then she pulls that kind of crap." I said. "I wanna be friends, but sometimes I wanna just..."

"Hey." Scott said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. I'm okay, Paul's okay. We're good." I turned around and rushed Scott into a hug, surprising him.

"I can't go through that again. Never again." I said silently. Scott put his arms around me and pat my back affectionately.

**Xavier Institute (Normal POV) **

Xavier was sitting by the fireplace in his study and had just told Logan about his encounter with the man known as Magneto. After explaining what had happened, Logan leaned on the side of the fireplace and stared into the flames before looking to Xavier.

"Why not just tell 'em the truth Chuck? They deserve to know." He said.

"How can I tell them that their school principal, the one their supposed to respect and trust, and their enemy are one in the same? And Ripley...with the news about her involvement in his lover's demise..."

"Look, of there's anything these kids know how to do, it's keeping their cool and keeping their secrets." Logan said. Xavier held his hands together and leaned his head on them.

"I just don't know." He said.

"They'll be okay, trust me on this. You've taught them a lot. And you know how the Rip is. He won't allow himself to be like Mystique." Suddenly the door opened and Jean and the weather witch Ororo, or Storm as most called her, walked into the room.

"Trouble's brewing. A blizzard in the mountains." Ororo said.

"The geology club went up there this morning." Jean said.

"Jean, I thought you were going with them." Xavier said.

"So did I, but I heard that Darkholme eighty sixed me to make room for her little Rogue." Xavier shut his eyes and sighed.

"Rogue..." He said before looking to Ororo. "You're right, trouble is brewing."

**Caverns (Ripley's POV) **

We had walked deeply into the caverns and all around us were a series of stalactites and other rock formations that I hadn't seen before, most of them sparkled in the light of my flashlight and I was tempted to scrape a piece off the cave and make it into a ring or two, but I decided to just leave it all be and move onto the geology lesson with Rudetski and the other students.

"Okay, so while we're stuck here we might as well make the best of it." Rudetski said. "Now, moving onto metamorphic rock. Question: How does it change from its original state? Heat, pressure, or chemical change? It was one thing, now it's another a mutation. Now, if we move on, can anyone find any examples of igneous rocks?"

"How about that one Mr. Rudetski?" A student said. Scott and I stood back from the class to look around. On the corner of my eye, I saw something move. Scott must have seen the same thing because he looked in the same direction as I did, and saw Rogue headed off into another part of the cavern. I looked at Scott and we both nodded in understanding.

"Um...beg your pardon sir, but would it affect the rock in here if I went and took a leak? Cause I really have to go." I said.

"Okay, sure. But have someone go with you so you don't get lost." Rudetski said.

"Yes sir. Scott, come with me please?"

"Sure, come on Rip." Scott pointed his arms in the direction of the other compartment and I went in that direction.

"Don't go too far!" Rudetski said.

"Yes sir!" I replied. Scott followed me to where Rogue was headed. We both kept going a couple steps when I turned around a corner. Scott went the other way before a loud and echoing noise filled the cavern. Like running water, or tiny little footsteps from a large bug or something.

"Ripley?" He said, turning on his flashlight and looking all around for me. "Ripley?" Scott looked all around with his flashlight before shining it on my back. "Ripley!"

"What, can't a guy take a leak?" I said. Scott turned off his flashlight and walked closer to me.

"I thought..."

"What? I really did have to pee. Don't look!" Scott blushed and turned around before he walked off to search for Rogue.

**(Normal POV)**

Scott walked through the cavern and saw a light coming from the end of the tunnel.

"Huh, daylight?" He thought as he walked towards it. He kept on going until he stopped to admire the view at the end.

"Wow." Scott said. In the distance was a large glowing water fall leading into a large, shimmering pool of water. He walked forward a bit to get a closer look at it when he felt his foot about to slip, causing him to shout out in surprise. He looked down at the large crack he just about fell into and listened to chunks of rocks that fell from the ledge. Suddenly he realized that he didn't see Rogue anywhere.

"Rogue?" Scott called out.

"Ah need to know Scott, what do you want from meh?" Rogue said.

"I-I don't want anything, except maybe your friendship." Scott said.

"Know what I want?" Rogue said, walking right up to his face. "The truth. Am I a target for you and your X-Freaks?"

"We, uh..."

"It's true isn't it? Ah know all about your battle simulation, the one where Ah'm the enemy." Rogue turned her back and walked away from Scott.

"No, wait Rogue. It's complicated." Scott said. "We're not who you think we are. We've never tried to hurt you, you've been lied to. We want you with us." Rogue turned her back to Scott.

"Yeah? Well sorry, not interested." She said, walking away.

"Hey." A voice said. Scott and Rogue saw that it was Paul. "Rudetski sent me to look for you. Where's Ripley?"

"He had to find a private place to go." Scott said.

"Well Paul, here's your friend. Bet you'd never try to beat him." Rogue said.

"I'm afraid you'd..." Paul said before his voice, and his form, shifted into that of Principal Darkholme's. "lose that bet Rogue." Rogue was dazed at the shifting woman, and Scott was nonetheless. "Hello Scott. Are you more surprised to see me?" Darkholme suddenly changed her form to that of a blue skinned woman with red hair and a white sash. "Or me?" She began to chuckle darkly at Scott's reaction.

"Principal Dark... You're Mystique?!" He said.

"Something Professor Xavier neglected to tell you. Nice of him wasn't it?" Mystique said. You have no idea what he's been hiding from you." She walked in closely to Scott. "Let me inform you. You X-Men are nothing but puppets to Charles Xavier. And I am the sharp blade to cut your strings, just to watch you..." Mystique suddenly pushed Scott over the side of the cliff.

"No! Scott!" Rogue shouted, running right over to the edge of the cliff to search for any sign of Scott Summers, and she was devastated to find that she couldn't find anything. She looked at Mystique with red, teary eyes. "Why did you do that?!"

"I'm protecting you dear, from his lies. He only wants to hurt you, just like Charles Xavier and the other X-Men." Mystique said. Rogue looked back at her with stained eyes.

"And you don't?" She shouted. "What'd you do to Paul?"

"Lets just say that he missed the bus thanks to a little miscommunication about the departure time." Mystique said before changing back into Paul. "Now why don't we go back and share the tragic news with the others." Rogue looked at the cliffside and thought about Scott's words and the actions of all the other X-Men, including Ripley, who saved her life the day they met. She removed her glove and grabbed the shapeshifter's hand.

"No more secrets!" She shouted. Mystique's memories and energies suddenly began to enter her body and go through her mind. "Your powers are mine, your memories are mine!"

_"Absorbing his memories and physical abilities."_

_"She will come to us, given the right incentive."_

_"I want you!"_

_"Trying to outrun the X-Men, gorgeous?"_

_"Thought you could escape from the X-Men?"_

_"Some people just won't be helped!"_

All these words, these voices, these people were different, but the memories all belonged to the same body. She finally knew what happened that day, and a little bit more. When she could finally let go, Mystique fell back and dropped to the ground. Rogue rubbed her head and shook off the after effects of her powers before looking back to the large hole.

"Oh Scott, Ah'm so sorry." She said before a loud groaning filled the hole. She looked deeper into the hole and saw Scott hanging on by the skin of his hands. He tried to climb back up, but when he looked up to see where he could go, he could've sworn he saw Mystique jumping down after him to finish the job. Scott shouted out in fear and let go of the cliff when Mystique's form shifted to Rogue's and grabbed his wrists.

"Gotcha!" Rogue said before she pulled him right back onto the ledge.

"Phew! It's getting really hard to know the team players without a score card. Thank you Rogue for the lift." He said. They both looked up and saw Mystique lifting a huge rock above her head.

"Don't thank me yet!" Rogue said. Right as Mystique tossed the boulder at the teens, it stopped in midair and rocketed off to the side of the compartment.

"What was that?" Scott said. Mystique turned around and there was Ripley, his eyes and his hands ablaze with light.

**(Ripley's POV)**

After I had finished my business, I was going back to find Scott and Rogue when I saw and heard everything unfold. And when Mystique tried to kill Scott and Rogue at that moment, I was undeniably and infinitely angry and hurt beyond words or feeling, and I felt all of my feelings begin to bleed out of me through the flames in my hands.

"You just won't stop messing around with my head, won't you Mystique? I can't fucking believe you!" I shouted.

"Ripley, let me explain."

"Oh no, I've heard enough of your stupid, rambling shit!" I shouted, lifting the blue skinned woman in the air, making her gasp in fear. "You've deceived me and everyone else for the last time, and I'll be damned if I let you walk around and spew anymore bullshit. Now, do me one final favor and just die." I gestured my hands towards the walls, making her crash into the walls of the cavern hard. I kept on going back and forth between the walls, the floor, and the ceiling a few times before pushing her once more into a really rough patch of wall, causing her to black out. Suddenly I heard a couple loud screams ring through the cave. I looked over to the hole where Scott and Rogue had fallen, and then to where Mystique was and saw that she had once again disappeared into thin air.

"Dammit!" I shouted as I forced my angry ambitions aside and ran ran over to where Scott and Rogue were supposed to be and saw them getting quickly getting swept away by the stream below. My violent outburst had apparently dislodged the cliff the two were on and they fell into the reservoir.

"Scott, Rogue, I'm coming" I shouted, flying down into the space. I tried to fly in as close as I could, but the cavern was too narrow for me to squeeze through to get to them.

"Ripley, hurry!" Rogue shouted. Looking up and around, I saw a large crack in the ceiling of the cavern and sent a barrage of telekinetic fields to break it apart before flying out of the cave. Meanwhile, Scott and Rogue began speeding along quickly towards a large and rough looking boulder that obscured the waterfall on the other side. Scott moved his shades down a bit and blasted the rock away, but the stream soon began to pull them along faster. I saw the bits of rock explode from where the waterfall was exiting the cave and saw them speeding towards the edge.

"Rogue, Scott, jump!" I shouted. When they reached me, they did as I told and they both jumped at me at once, causing me to steer myself out of control. They both held onto me as we began to plummet. "Hold on guys! It's gonna be a rough landing!" We came closer and closer to a large bridge made of ice, and I put myself in front of the two right as we crashed down. I hit my head hard on the surface and with a burst of pain in my head, everything began to get hazy as I slid across the surface of the bridge. The impact of the landing also scattered and knocked Scott and Rogue unconscious. Rogue looked up and shook her head before looking around at the bridge, then to Scott, and then to me.

"Ripley?" She called out. I didn't answer. I heard someone calling for me, but I couldn't figure out who. "Ripley!" She ran over to me and knelt down to get a better look at me. I looked up at her, and I don't know what was going on, but I was seeing three of her.

"Oh, I hope I got you all at the same time." I said, weakly smiling.

"Ripley, listen, just hang on, you're gonna be okay. You're gonna be..." Rogue looked over the edge and gasped in shock. "Oh man, we're gonna die."

"Thanks for the Pep-Talk." I said weakly before looking up to see who was talking. "Rogue, you still there?"

"Ah'm right here princess." She said, holding my head in her hands before looking to one of them and gasping. Her fingers were wet with splotches of my blood. I couldn't see anything too well, but I could see that by her face, something was troubling her.

"Whassup chika?"

"I-it's nothin', you're gonna be alright, you're gonna be... Oh Ripley. Oh mah God." Rogue began tearing up. "Ah'm so sorry, Ah'm so, so sorry."

"I don't blame you Rogue. This was all on Mystique, that bitch just doesn't know when... to...quit..." I said as everything went dark.

"Ripley, don't pass out! Come on!" Rogue shouted.

**(Normal POV) **

"Scott! Help meh!" Rogue shouted. Scott woke up and shook his head before looking to where Rogue's voice was coming from. "Help meh!" Scott looked to her side and saw that Ripley was unconscious and not moving. Standing up slowly, he walked as quick as he could with a limp in his foot.

"What happened to him?" Scott asked.

"He must've cushioned our fall and hit his head really hard on the bridge. He's bleedin' Scott, really bad." Rogue said. Scott reached into Ripley's coat pocket and pulled out his ski mask.

"Lift his head up." He said. Rogue did what Scott told her to do and Scott slowly put the mask on Ripley's head, and tore the front open a bit more to allow air to get into him. "This should halt the bleeding for now. He should be fine until..."

"Until we freeze to death?" Rogue interrupted. Scott looked to Rogue and grabbed her hand gently, making her look at his face.

"Rogue, you saved my life." He said.

"Ah owed it to you." She said. "Mystique had meh pretty mixed up. Her mind's a tortured mess, but Ah saw enough to know that you're not my enemies Ah really thought she cared about me!

"Hey, she probably does, sometimes it's really hard to understand adults. They never seem to trust the younger generations sometimes."

"Ah wonder if that's how we'll be."

"Hey, let's make a pact. If...when we get out of here, we teach ourselves to trust our next generation no matter what. Deal?" Scott said. Rogue looked at Scott's face before she smiled and sighed.

"Deal." She said. Ripley's hand suddenly lifted and touched both of their hands, making them look at the thought to be unconscious boy.

"Deal." He said weakly. Rogue smiled before leaning over and kissing Ripley on his masked forehead. While the three teens were huddling together, blazing with newfound friendship, Mystique watched them from a ledge above the bridge and began panting with fury.

**Nearby**

Moving quickly through the mountain range nearby, Wolverine was piloting the X-Jet with Storm, Jean Grey, and Professor Xavier in search of their students in potential danger. While Logan was flying, Xavier was scanning around the mountains for Scott or Ripley, but was finding it hard to do so with the constant feeling of worry, while Storm was paving a way through the blizzard to give them a stable flight pattern and something to see.

"We're moving too slow, spread a little more sunshine would ya?" Wolverine said, looking back at Storm.

"I'm a weather-witch, not a snow plow. I'm doing the best I can." She replied.

**Ice Bridge **

Mystique stood up tall at the edge of her perch point before she morphed into a large wolf with bright yellow eyes and leapt down onto the bridge with a loud growl. Rogue gasped at the sudden appearance of the wolf and felt as if she somehow recognized it.

"It's Mystique!" She shouted. Scott stood up in front of Rogue and Ripley before he winced in pain before he almost fell down. "Scott!"

"My ankle, I think it's sprained." He said as he looked the wolf in the face angrily as it started to advance closer to the three teens. Rogue grabbed Ripley's shoulders and began dragging him back, with Scott crouched down and moving back slowly and shielding them.

**X-Jet **

Xavier was still scanning around for any signs of his students when he finally got a mental signal from both of them in one spot.

"Scott? Ripley? I hope you can hear me. We're on our way and..."He said telepathically before his face lt up in horror. "Ripley!"

"What's wrong Charles?" Storm said.

It's Ripley, he's badly hurt and Scott is mildly injured. He's fighting on for Ripley and Rogue, but Mystique is quickly advancing on them."

"Great! How we gonna find them in this white?" Wolverine said as he steered the jet in one other direction.

**Ice Bridge (Ripley's POV)**

When I heard Xavier's voice going through my mind, I felt myself awaken again.

"X-Men..." I murmured.

"What?" Rogue said.

"They're coming to get us." Scott said.

They are? Great."

"But they can't...find us." I said.

"Figures." Rogue said.

"Well, let's give them something they can find." Scott said, removing his glasses and looking up with his optic blasts bursting at full power. I raised up my hand and with the last bit of my strength, blasted a large stream of my fire alongside Scott's blast.

**X-Jet (Normal POV) **

The four X-Men were continuing to look around for any signs of their comrades when two streams of red and blue energy erupted into the sky.

"There!" Xavier said.

"Chuck, take the controls." Wolverine said, standing up and walking in front of the exit door.

**Ice Bridge**

After both of the X-Men blasted their "signal flares" into the sky, Ripley had fallen unconscious and Scott's ankle had finally given up on him completely, compelling Mystique to move in for the final strike. Rogue knew that she had to do something immediately, or else her new friends would die up there with her. She removed her glove again and gave a light tap on the back of Scott's neck, absorbing his powers into herself before she turned around and gave Ripley's nose a light tap. The power that filled her was nothing like she had before, it even frightened her a little bit, and she thought she knew power when she took Storm's power. Brushing her fears aside, she looked the she-wolf in the face as her eyes glowed red and her hands ignited with blue fire.

"Some friendly advice teach, don't mess with the Rogue!" She shouted before she blasted the wolf with Scott's optic blasts and a stream of Ripley's blue flames, causing her to fall off the bridge with a loud yelp of pain. The wolf suddenly changed into the form of a giant eagle and began flying right towards us for an attack, but was stopped by a large jet. She gave out a shriek as the door opened up to Wolverine.

"Give it up Mystique, or you'll be tangling with the Wolverine!" He shouted, unsheathing his claws and making the shapeshifter fly away quickly. The bridge suddenly began to crumble under the three teens' feet. Rogue picked up Ripley by his shoulders when the X-Jet levitated up and turned around to the door where Wolverine was waiting. She looked at the man and recognized him as the man who she thought attacked her, but she knew better now. Behind him was Jean Grey, the redhead who tried to befriend her at the graveyard, and Scott Summers' girlfriend. Wolverine jumped out of the jet and grabbed Rogue by her waist and went under Ripley's shoulder for support.

"Hang on." He said as he walked them into the jet before Jean lifted Scott with her mind behind them. After the door shut and the jet took off, the bridge finally collapsed and crumbled into the river below. Aboard the jet, Logan lifted Ripley onto one of the benches inside while Jean settled Scott onto one of the seats. Wolverine looked at his hand and was shocked at how much blood was on the young man.

"Rip? Rip, can you hear me?" Wolverine said. Ripley stirred himself awake for a second, but his eyes looked pale and completely out of it.

"Kyle? I'm so sorry. I couldn't save you, I'm coming back to you baby, wait for me." He said weakly before falling back unconscious.

"Damn it. Chuck, punch it! We gotta get this kid back now or he's not gonna make it!" He shouted. Xavier nodded before locking the jet into turbo drive. Wolverine exit the med bay and looked down at Rogue, who was shaking like a leaf.

"Where's your allegiance, kid. Us or them?" He asked.

"If I don't say you, will I get thrown out of this jet?" She said shakily.

"Nope, not our style. We've either earned your trust by now or we haven't." Rogue looked to Scott, who was being tended to by Jean, and then to Storm who was tending to Ripley's bandages, and she felt so stupid right then. She spent weeks thinking that these people, these X-Men wanted nothing more than to hurt her, to kill her maybe, but looking back at how nice they all were to her, even when they first met, and how Ripley saved her, she knew that these people were the best thus cruel world had to offer. She looked up at Wolverine with a little frozen smile.

"You." She said. Wolverine smiled before offering his hand.

"Welcome to the X-Men."

**Meanwhile**

Mystique was still in the form of an eagle and was flying away back to Bayville to report in to Magneto about her progress, the very thought of it filled her with such dread that chilled her more than the falling snow was.

_"This has been the most repugnant situation I could ever be in. First I failed to bring him Ripley, and now I...we've lost Rogue yet again. If I am lucky enough, perhaps I could try once more to..."_ Suddenly the world around her was lit up brightly like the sun.

"What?!" She shouted before she lost consciousness. After a while of darkness, Mystique felt herself awakening and opened her eyes to what looked like a house filled to the ceiling with rare artifacts and old looking books and scrolls. She stood up from the floor she was on and walked a few steps to further examine her surroundings

"Where am I?" She said. Suddenly, a door opened and that same flash of light appeared before a man with an archaic looking robe, black slacks, and graying black hair appeared.

"You are in my home, Ms. Darkholme. Welcome to my Sanctum Santorum." He said. Mystique crossed her arms and gave out a small laugh.

"I've never heard of such a nonsensical sounding place." She said.

"Nor should you know, but in this case I would like to make a small exception."

"Who are you? And why did you kidnap me?"

"I didn't kidnap you my dear, I simply plucked you away because I simply wished to speak. As to my name, I really cannot say."

"Can't, or won't?"

"Both." Mystique glared deeply at this man.

"I demand to know..." She said before a glowing ribbon of energy shushed her up.

"I beg your pardon Ms. Darkholme, but you are in no position to demand anything, especially with the foolish actions you and your master seem so keen on making, so I will only tell you this, and only this once woman." The man said before appearing behind her with his lips close to her ear. "Do not aggravate young Ripley any further, or you will face your end much quicker than you think. This is not a threat, but a warning, not just for your sake, but for the entire world's, so of you have any value in your life, or the existence of the world as you wish to see fit, do not seek to anger the boy any further, or his wrath, and the death of the earth, and your own demise, will be on your head." Mystique suddenly sat up sharply from her bed and gasped in as much air as she could. She looked all around her surroundings and saw that she was inside of her own bedroom.

_"I'm...home? Was it all a dream? Or was it...no, it was nothing. Just a dream." _Mystique thought as she laid back onto her pillow. However, her eyes wouldn't close, for the words of the strange man still lingered loudly in her mind.

"Who were you?" She said.

**The Xavier Institute (Ripley's POV) **

I stirred around in my sleep, strange dreams filling my mind and an ear splitting pain filling my head before I felt myself awaken. I rubbed my head and groaned before I felt someone hug me tightly.

"Ripley!" A voice said. I widened my eyes at the sound of the voice and looked at the large body that was shrouding me. "Thank God you're awake." I was released from my hug and saw that it was Forge. I couldn't remember why I was in the hospital again, but then I suddenly remembered, with a very cruel joke also springing to my mind.

"Um...yeah. Who are you?" I said. Forge's face grew a very distasteful look of worry. "Hah, I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist." Forge frowned before he gave my arm a little punch.

"That's not funny man!" He said.

"I know, I'm sorry, that was uncool of me. And...ow." I said, rubbing my arm quickly to relieve the pain. "You had to use your robot arm to punch me? Seriously, ow."

"Would ya rather I hit you with my other hand?"

"No. Dude, I'm sorry. Really, I am." I said as I pulled him into another hug.

"Twice now I almost lost you. Please don't make it a third time, don't even try to make it a habit."

"I don't know if it'll be possible, but I'll promise that I'll try not to anyway." I looked over Forge's shoulder and saw Rogue sitting on a chair by the hospital bed I was in.

"Rogue?" I said.

"Hey Princess, how're you feeling?" She said. Forge let go of me before Rogue stood up and sat on the space near me.

"I've got a helluva headache amd my mouth's drier than a jar of peanuts, but besides that I'm just dandy." I said. "How're you doing kiddo?"

"Ah'm just..." Rogue said before she sighed sadly. "Ah'm so sorry Ripley, if Ah saw it sooner, maybe Ah..."

"Hey, hey, none of that. Okay? Mystique played you, I get that. She played us all, you and me especially. She made me think I could trust her over my friends for a second, but then I remembered who my loving friends were, and who the creepy hateful stranger was."

"How did you get over it?

"I didn't, I just look forward to the next time she tries to hrt anyone else, and on that occasion, make her regret it."

"It sounds too good to be that simple."

"Says the girl who kicked her ass."

"How'd you...?"

"Forgive me. I'm a mind reader and I still have yet to master it completely. And the possibility of drain bamage probably put some more restless hours of training on my schedule." Rogue smiled before she grabbed my hand with her gloved hand.

"Ah never got the chance or the courage to thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving meh the day we met. Ah was going crazy with power and just about blew everything away, but then you came and guided me to safety. So...thank you." I smiled at her and nodded.

"You're welcome Rogue. By the way, about today, what happened with the rest of the class? Wouldn't they know that there was someone missing?"

"Apparently three kids dropped into the river and were fished out by a rescue chopper. Rudetski was so relived to see us okay and alive, but he was so mad he almost gave us all detention for a week."

"Damn. Well, did he?"

"Nah, he didn't want to stress us any more than we were, so he let it slide. But we do have extra homework."

"Eh, I can live with that."

"Ripley." A voice said. I looked over and saw Scott walking in on crutches with Jean and everyone else.

"Scott." I said. Scott walked up to me in his crutches and wrapped me in a hug. "Are you okay?"

"To hell with me, what about you? You look like shit."

"And you still look beautiful." Scott let me go before Kitty ran up to me and wrapped me in a big hug. "Hey Kat, careful please. Bandages."

"Sorry, you scared the crap out of us, again you jerk!" She said before she let me go and punched my arm, making me wince.

"I'm sorry." I said out loud.

_"Same. Exact. Spot!"_ I shouted in my mind. Everyone else entered the room and gathered around both Rogue and I. Rogue looked a bit uneasy about all these people who she thought were trying to kill her, so I held her hand and looked at her with a smile.

"It's okay Stripes." I said. Rogue smirked at my nickname for her. "It's my thing, I give people nicknames."

"So is it true? Principal Darkholme is Mystique?" Evan asked. My smile went away as I looked around at everyone.

"Yes."

"Man, that's just so...whacked!" Kurt said.

"And apparently, Xavier knew about it too."

"What? Why didn't he tell us?" Jean said.

"I don't know, but right now I feel like we're all due an explanation."

**Later (Living Room)**

"It's the same as lying to us." Jean said. "We had a right to know who our principal really was." Everyone of the students, including myself, vocally agreed all at once before Kurt stepped up.

"Yeah man, what did you think we would do, go after her?" Kurt said.

"Man, we know better." Evan said. "If she wants to play like nothing's going down, then so can we."

"It was like we were playing with fire, and we didn't even know it." Kitty said, looking at Xavier, who then looked to Rogue, awaiting a response from her.

"Rogue?" He said. Rogue looked away and then back to me before going back to him.

"It's not my place." She said quietly.

"Sure it is! You're part of the family now." Kitty said.

"Yeah, girl! Tell us what you think." Evan said. Rogue looked at me and I nodded at her approvingly.

"Go for it." I said. Rogue smiled before adjusting herself in her seat.

"Well...I think...no, I've learnt that honesty is very important between people you care about, at least it is to me." She said.

"You're right, all of you." Xavier said. "I must apologise for keeping the secret from you, but please understand there are many challenges in your future. Secrets...elements of surprise some you are ready to deal with. Some you are not. In the future I will try to do better knowing which is which."

"Thanks professor, but we're all in this together. It's nice to know we've all got something to learn, it's what makes us X-Men." Scott said. I smiled at Scott's words.

_"Well said Mister Summers, well said."_ I thought.

**End of Chapter 32 **

**A/N: The roster is now complete, at last. I had planned on finishing it by the end of the year, but tons of crap came up and I never got the chance to hit my deadline. Oh well. Anyway, happy 2016 everyone! **

_**And I hope you all got your new year's kisses.**_

**Oh hello Ripley! What a treat, would you like to say hello to everyone?**

_**Sure. Hello everyone, and happy new year! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, cause MisterCray here was super worried that he wouldn't get it posted on time. So let's put our hands together and clap for him! **_**(Starts clapping)**

**Aww, you're so sweet. Thank you guys for the year of your support and love to this story, I hope you're hungry for what comes next, cause things will be getting much crazier. Review, favorite, and follow, because if you do, it will make me and Ripley very happy.**

_**I can't feel my face I'm so smiley!**_

**Thank you everyone, and I hope your first day of 2016 was a nice one! Ready Rip? Together now. One, two, three...PEACE!**


	33. Chapter 33

**X-Men Evolution: The Ripple in Man and Mutantkind**

**Chapter 33: Cat Fight Round Two **

On the outskirts of Bayville, stood a water tower, where most of the residential water storage was kept. At its feet, was a gate with a notice on the front to dissuade trespassers, but that didn't seem to stop a feral looking biker man with long dirty blonde hair from tearing the lock off with his thick black claws. He walked over to the ladder and climbed it quickly. When he got to the top, he walked to the center of the roof and pulled out a collapsable pair of binoculars from his pocket to scope out the city. He looked around for a while before he saw the local high school and zoomed in to see a kid with brown skin and blonde hair holding a camera, which didn't fascinate him at all, until he looked to another window and saw an older black haired boy, who made him growl dangerously. He remembered what this boy did to him, how he humiliated him, and he swore that if he knew where he came from, he'd take his revenge. But for now it seemed he'd have to wait for the next time, for his current mission of vendetta had to come first. He put down the binoculars and searched for the best path to the school before jumping down from the water tower to the nearest rooftop.

**(Ripley's POV)**

"So he really didn't know what he was saying, and he was speaking French. Take that you French speaking potbellied creep!" I said, waving my fist in the air.

"Well, I'm sure he knew vhat he was almost referring to. He is a sub after all." Kurt said.

"He's supposed to be a German language teacher Kurt, not the French and German languages' dirty love child." I said, pushing my hands together and making Kurt laugh. "And when I called him out on it, he had a nervous breakdown. If he wants to keep his job subing German classes, maybe he should talk to you instead of his little glossary."

"Yeah, maybe. Vhat vas it he vas trying to say again?"

"He was trying to say 'Guten Morgen'."

"Good morning?"

"Yeah, but instead he was saying 'Guten Matin'. He said good in German, but then he said 'morning' in French." Kurt laughed again before we heard someone calling for us.

"Hey guys!" A voice called out. We both looked over to where the voice was calling from and saw Jordan Harrison sprinting towards us.

"Hi Jordan, what's up?"

"I just heard that tomorrow we have a half day on Monday because of some surprise meeting." He said.

"You're kidding. Why?"

"I dunno, and I really don't care, we can go back to our lives sooner next Monday!"

"Sweet!" Kurt and I said, high-fiving each other, a little too hard because a bit of flame came out of my hand and touched Kurt's image inducer, making it begin to sputter.

"Crap! We'll see you later Jordan."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I'll explain later, gotta go now." I said, pushing Kurt away. "Kurt, get into the restroom, go, go, go!" I said, pushing him into the nearest restroom. Inside there were a couple guys who looked surprised to see us. "You guys should leave, he's really sick and he's gonna blow everywhere. Go!" All the boys in the restroom quickly took their leave before I shoved Kurt into the largest stall in the corner as his normal form came into view.

"Thanks Ripley, although I can think of a more romantic spot for a kiss." Kurt said.

"Really? I thought the smells of human waste usually got the juices pumping for you." I said. Kurt chuckled before looking at his holowatch and sighed in annoyance as his image kept going back and forth between his normal and casual forms.

"Man." He complained.

"Sorry, ever since my drain bamage my powers have been on the fritz." I said.

"Your what?" Kurt asked with a raised brow.

"Drain bamage, huh?" I said with a smile. Kurt put a hand on his chin and grew an inquisitive expression on his face before he grinned and began to laugh.

"Hah, good one!" He said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Good thing that part of my brain isn't messed up."

"Speaking of which, I should go get this looked at, see if the Professor or Forge can fix it. Ripley, could you...?" Kurt said before I held up my hand.

"Go, I'll take care of things here."

"Thanks man, I owe you." Kurt said, vanishing in a puff of brimstone which caused me to cough violently.

"Ew..." I said, waving the smoke away from my face and exiting the bathroom quickly, but also walking by a group of people, who sniffed at the air around me.

"Oh, sick!" They said.

"It's not me, I swear to God!" I said, holding up my hands defensively. "My friend is in there and he's really, really sick. I suspect bowl influenza. He's throwing up everything today and shitting all over the place and he really wants to be alone, so please just move along." The group looked at me with weirded out looks before they walked away. "Thank you, thank you." I sighed in relief when they left.

_"Oh, you owe me alright, Kurt." _I thought before looking over to see Evan looking out the window with something that looked like a camera or something. I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Evan?" I said. Evan turned around sharply with three bone spikes on his knuckles readying a punch.

"Dude!" I shouted. Evan stopped his attack before he took a few deep breaths and put his spikes away.

"I could've toothpicked your head, man!" He said.

"Sorry." I said before clearing my throat. "Anyway, Kurt needed to head home because his image inducer is on the fritz and I was wondering if you knew his next class, because I really don't know anymore."

"Oh yeah, sure."

"Cool, then you get to tell the teacher he has the flu." I said, smiling a bit at Evan's reaction before looking at the camera in his hand. "Cool thing-a-ma-bob, where'd you get it?"

"This is for a project I'm doing for class. I got a bad grade on my last paper and I really needed the extra credit, so he gave me this to make a documentary about my view the life of an American teen today."

"Cool, think we could do a little section on me?"

"Hmm...maybe. I'll get back to you on that." Evan said as the bell rang. "Oops, late for class, see you later Rip."

"See you, buddy." I said, waving goodbye. I walked a couple steps forward before I caught a distinct glance of something moving across rooftops in the distance.

"Hmm..." I pondered, narrowing my eyes at a figure in the distance. I looked close at this guy before I gasped and widened my eyes in surprise.

_"Holy shit!"_ I thought. I looked around to make sure that no one was looking at me before I flew up into the sky and towards where the man I knew as Sabertooth, but what I didn't see was that a pair of eyes from inside the school saw me take off, and those eyes belonged to a certain Jordan Harrison.

_"Holy shit!"_ He thought. Meanwhile, I was keeping myself at a distance that Sabertooth couldn't see me, and so no one else could see me from street view. I kept on following after him before he stopped once more and looked through a pair of really high tech looking binoculars. I smirked before zooming in front of his view point with my face over the binocular lenses.

"Hey, stinky!" I said loudly, making Sabertooth jump and yelp in surprise before falling down flat on his butt. "Whoa there stud, I'm just here to talk. Although I gotta admit, scaring the crap out of you was fucking hilarious." I walked onto the rooftop as Sabertooth got back up and took a swipe at me, which I dodged. I jumped over his back and levitated a couple feet behind him with a smirk before he continued to swipe at me a few times. On the last one of his attacks, I went for an opening and gave him a swift kick in the chest, causing him to fly backwards a few feet and slide across the roof until his head hit the ledge.

"Hmm, even with a banged up head I can still kick your ass. Guess it's true what they say, we learn things about ourselves every day." I walked towards Sabertooth and crouched down to his level. "Care to help me learn something else? Like what the hell you're doing back here with binoculars and staring at kids. You some kinda pervert or something?"

"Stay outta my way, I'm really not in the mood for you kid." Sabertooth said, standing up and walking away before I appeared right in front of him.

"Yeah? Well, tough. You'd better get in the mood for me mister, because right now I'm telling you that whatever you're here for, which is probably most likely Logan, you're going to forget about it and leave this town right now." I said.

"And if I don't?" Sabertooth asked.

"Really? Do you seriously not remember the last time we tangled? I moped the floor of a parking garage with your fat ass." I held up a hand with some of my fire in the palm and swirled it around a bit. "So, unless you want me to reprise that fight, only without any mercy at the end and more roasted pork smell, I suggest you take your leave right now." I closed my fist around the fire and put it out before lowering it down and looking at the man with a little smile. "Please?" Sabertooth growled furiously under his breath before he smirked.

"You got guts kid. I hope one day you won't need 'em, because that day I'll be there to rip them outta ya." He said.

"Ooh. I'm so scared." I said with a fake quiver before putting a hand on my hip. "When the day comes, you'd better bring it on. Because I'll be bringing the heat, literally." I touched my tongue with a finger and the saliva touching my finger evaporated quickly, making a hissing sound. "But right now, you and that leather cladded ass of yours should go..."I went close to his face with a little smile. "bye-bye." I backed up a step and began waving. "Bye-bye." I waved my hand goodbye until Sabertooth grunted and jumped away from rooftop to rooftop and eventually vanished from my sight. I laughed under my breath and walked back to the edge of the roof with my back turned where the man left.

"Pfft, what a loser." I said to myself before flying away at top speed back to the school. Meanwhile, behind me Sabertooth was chuckling darkly to himself.

"Heh, yeah...loser." He muttered before he exit the alley and went back to the rooftops.

**Later (Normal POV) **

The end of the school day had finally come, and since the next school day was a half day of school, the students were bustling around trying to figure out what to do with the extra hours of that day, that is, except for Jordan Harrison. He was thinking about going out to see a movie or something earlier, but now his mind was still reeling over what he saw before his last period. He saw, with his two eyes, his friend Ripley, flying away at high speeds.

_"I know I saw what I saw, didn't I? But that should be impossible, there's absolutely no way that..." _He thought before he accidentally bumped into a jock.

"Hey, watch it, geek!" He said, shoving him against a locker.

"Hey!" A voice shouted. Jordan and the jock looked over and saw Ripley running over to them. The jock looked to Jordan before letting him go and jogging off. "Yeah, you'd better run ass wipe!"

**(Ripley's POV)**

"Assholes. I swear to God, giant, sagging assholes." I murmured, looking down at Jordan. "Are you okay Jordan?" I offered my hand to him, which he grabbed and pulled himself up.

"Y-yeah." He replied. I bent down and picked up his backpack before handing it to him.

"Why the jocks practicality run this school is way beyond me. I swear that one of these days, I'm gonna snap and then, POW! Right in the kisser." Jordan began to shake a bit, and I didn't notice it until I saw his knees quivering.

"What's up Jordan?" I asked.

"N-nothin'." He replied.

"You sure you're okay? You look a bit pale." I put my hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "Man, I don't know what the hell you've been doing all day, but you feel cold."

"Yeah, I've actually been feeling kinda weird after lunch."

"Maybe something you ate? But wait a minute, I had the same thing you had. Damn! I hope I don't get sick. Although with Kurt down for the count, I guess it's a matter of time."

"Before what?"

"Before I get sick. Maybe you should lie down with something hot to drink when you get home, your mind's slipping away from the current conversation."

"Yeah, I guess it is." I looked up ahead and saw Rogue and Kitty walking through the halls on the way to Rogue's locker.

"Well, I hope you feel better later today if not tomorrow. Later buddy." I pat the boy's shoulder before walking off.

"See you." He said.

"Hey, Kat, Stripes, wait up!" I shouted, running over to the two girls. It was only two days since Rogue moved into the institute, and I was ever so grateful that she got away from Mystique's influence, but I was uber pissed off that Principal Darkholme, the head of the school, the woman who to the teenaged population and the faculty of the district was supposedly God, was no more than the forked tongued, blue skinned, red haired serpent in the garden herself. I trusted her, the only adult outside the X-Men, and it turned out she was just manipulating me, along with everyone else. But I couldn't worry about it now. Whatever she was planning, I already swore to end it, and her, before it reaches fruition. But before then, at the moment I just wanted to hang with my homies.

"Hey Rip." Kitty and Rogue said at once before looking at each other with small glares.

"So how was today?" I asked.

"Meh." They said before looking at each other with intense frowns.

"Would you stop that?" Rogue said.

"Nuh-uh, you stop it first!" Kitty replied.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" I asked.

"Homegirl here swiped my favorite book." Kitty said.

"Ah didn't 'swipe' your stupid novel!" Rogue replied.

"Oh right, I suppose it just, like, got into your gym locker by accident."

"Whoa, whoa, tone it down a bit guys." I said.

"You loaned it to Kurt, and he loaned it to meh. Ah was gonna give it back." Rogue walked away with me behind before Kitty ran in front of her.

"Oh, right, I..." As she backed up, she failed to see the total babe behind her and bumped into him, causing him to spill his flyers all over the place, and her to drop the textbooks in her arms. "Oops! Hi. I'm so sorry. Could I be any klutzier?"

"No problem, here let me help." He said.

"I'll assist." I said, crouching down and picking up some papers. Jason Nasier, the only other boy besides Scott I've ever had my eye on when Kyle and I were going through an on and off phase for months. He would often glance my way, hold doors open for me, he was a regular gentleman. And he was so hot, you could bake cookies on him. I considered asking him out once before Kyle and I got back together for good, that is until he died. Rogue looked down at the both of us and rolled her eyes.

"I'm, like, such a dork. I-I really should look where I'm going." Kitty said.

"It's my fault, I should've stopped you." I said. Meanwhile this was happening, Evan had his camera pointed right at us from behind his locker.

"And now, enter the love interest." He said, zooming in. I gathered all of the flyers in a neat stack before handing them to Jason.

"Thanks dude." He said.

"You're welcome, Jason." I said with a little giggle.

"You're welcome, Jason." Rogue said in a mocking tone of voice.

"Here you go." Jason said, handing Kitty her last textbook.

"Thank you Jason." She said.

"Thank you Jason. Ugh." Rogue said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, you're Kitty, right?"

"Yeah, Kitty, that's right, that's my name." Kitty replied, blushing and laughing. "Hi! Oops, I already said that, um, whatcha doin'?" Sensing my chances of getting the guy getting slashed to pieces, either that or the horrible embarrassment I felt for Kitty, I backed off closer to Rogue.

"Ugh, Ah am definitely gonna be ill." She whispered.

"Ditto." I replied.

"Hanging posters. Auditions for the school play are coming up tomorrow night. Hey, you're gonna try out right? We need people who can sing and dance. Would you like to try out with us, uh...Ripley was it?"

"Yes, and, um, yes. I'd love to come." I said, blushing a bit myself, and making Rogue frown.

"So what part do you play?" Kitty asked.

"I'm the, uh, the male lead."

"You're gonna be Dracula? Hot/Cool." Kitty and I said in tandem before looking at each other and back to him.

"Well, duh. Of course I'm going to try out." Kitty said.

"Me too." I said.

"Great. I'll see you two tomorrow." Jason said, walking away. I still thought about Kyle most of the time, but lately I couldn't help but catch a glimpse of some guys' cute little butts, and Jason's was superb.

"Dibs." I said.

"Like, no way. I totally saw him first, and he said my name first!" Kitty said, poking my chest. I scoffed and moved Kitty's finger away.

"Oh bitch please. I've been here so much longer than you, and I've seen him across the halls sometimes. Just last week, he held the door open for me."

"So?"

"So, he complimented me almost immediately afterwards."

"On what?" I scoffed and began moving a hand over my body.

"Have you seen how I dress lately? He was complimenting everything!"

"Wait a minute, he didn't really, like, verbally compliment you did he?"

"No, but he was totally eyeballing every inch of me, that's a compliment if I ever did know one."

"Pfft, shows how much you know."

"Just when Ah thought you two could not possibly get more pathetic." Rogue interrupted with an amused smirk.

"Oh, so what? At least I've got a hope of getting cast. Unlike you guys." Kitty said.

"Think about it, Ah was made for this play." Rogue said.

"So was I." I said.

"Oh shut up." Kitty said.

"I'm serious. Stick me in one of those outfits, dazzle me up with makeup, and maybe trim my hair a bit and I'd kill the role given to me." Rogue huffed before she saw Evan with his camera, recording us.

"Hey! What are you playin' at Porcupine?" She shouted.

"It's cool, I'm just doing an assignment for Vandimire's class." Evan said, closing his locker and walking up to us.

"Ah better not see mah face on that tape, or they're gonna be calling you Spyke-less."

"Uh, yeah. Hey, look, don't worry about it." Evan said, looking at the Dracula poster on the locker. "Hey, are you guys gonna audition for this?"

"Well, I am." Kitty said, looking at Rogue and I with a competitive smirk.

"So am I." I said, returning the look.

"Yeah, me too." Rogue said. We frowned and looked away at each other before looking back again and then splitting into three different directions.

"Cool." Evan said before facing the feont of the camera. "Oh yeah, character conflict. Now that's what I'm talkin' about." I looked back at Evan with his little camera and smiled.

"Make sure you get my good side babe, when I get the part of the damsel in distress." I said loudly to Kitty.

"Oh dream on tall, dark, and broody." Kitty said.

"Better scurry little Kitty." Rogue said. Kitty frowned before we each went our different ways to an exit. Meanwhile this was going on, Jordan was creeping around a corner, staring at me.

_"I couldn't have seen him flying, it's just not possible." _He thought. _"What am I even doing? Maybe I am coming down with something. Come on, Ripley flying?"_

"Pfft." Jordan said, taking a couple steps back, but then continued to follow me.

**Meanwhile **

Outside, Sabertooth had come to a stop on a rooftop just across the street from the high school when the kids inside began to pour out, including Evan and his skateboard, and the camera he saw him with. He gave a sickening growl and a smirk.

"And now, time for an Evan's eye view of what it means to be a rockin' skater." Evan said as he let down his skateboard and began riding down the sidewalk at top speeds, nearly taking out a few helpless pedestrians along the way until he was off of the school grounds. Sabertooth stood up on all fours and began trekking across the rooftops in the same direction Evan was headed before jumping onto a nearby truck. Evan in the meantime was doing a bunch of sick moves, like his current move, a classic handstand, and then jumping out of it before landing on his feet and continuing his ride. Suddenly he took notice of a stray cat, which screamed out as Evan jumped over it. But right as he was about to land, Sabertooth jumped from the truck and grabbed the camera from Evan's hand before shoving him away.

"Hey!" Evan shouted as he went down an alley and crashed into a trashcan, knocking him halfway out. Meanwhile, Sabertooth had ducked under the nearest stairwell and was scoping over the footage Evan had taken.

_"Wow, you can see the institute from here."_ Evan's voice said on the recording. Sabertooth's eyes glistened. He felt that he was close to his goal, he shuffled his deck, and he felt like he was finally close to his goal. The image of the mansion zoomed in closer to the front gate, and a familiar motorcycle drove swiftly right next to it, making the man growl and lick his lips like a jungle cat who found his prey. Meanwhile, still a bit lightheaded, Evan pushed himself up from the trash cans and the garbage and looked to where he was pushed aside.

"Man, someone is looking for some trouble!" He said, loading his arms full of his bone spikes and ran off to find his attacker. When he emerged from the alley, he didn't see anyone, but he saw his camera lying on its side at the bottom of a stairway. "Huh?" He walked down the stairs and picked up the tiny device. "Aw man, I hope it isn't busted." He looked into the lens and checked all the buttons and gear on it before turning on the record button again. "It looks okay." He looked up at the top of the stairway and through the lens he saw the skinny hip-hoping mutant Todd Tolensky, the Toad.

"'Sup Daniels!"

"What do you want Tolensky?" Evan said. "I'm busy here."

"I heard about your movie. Check this out!" Toad balanced on the top of the railing by his hand before he leapt up to the edge of a windowsill and before flipping over to the stairway railing and sliding down. "Style, charisma." Toad jumped up into the air with a flip before he landed in front of the young skater. "The Toad's got it all, yo." Toad got into what in his mind was an elegant pose and smiled. "Start shooting already."

"Take a hike, Tolensky." Evan said as he got on his board. "I have too much respect for my craft." Evan rocketed away from Toad and began filming his ride again. Meanwhile, above him on the rooftops, Sabertooth watched Evan with an almost hungry looking expression. Licking his teeth with a sadistic smile, he began laughing under his breath. He found his target at last.

**Meanwhile (Ripley's POV)**

I walked out to the back of the school where no one could see me and teleported from the school grounds and appeared in front of the front gate of the institute. I walked over to and jumped over the fence, landing gracefully on the other side before walking towards the house. I was almost at the front door when I saw Logan in the gardens, twiddling around with some kind of computer. I felt like I should've told him that his arch enemy was in town, and that I chased his mullet toting ass out, but then he'd probably have freaked out at me and I knew he had better things to do than worry about me. Plus I was curious about whatever it was he was doing, and I wanted to say hi. I walked over to where Logan was and saw him typing on a small keyboard.

"Hey Logan." I said, making him turn around.

"Sup Rip?" He replied.

"Nothing much. I'm considering to enter a school play coming up soon though."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Didn't peg you for an actor, Rip."

"Neither did I, but it's like I told S..." I was about to say Sabertooth, but I quickly corrected myself. "Somebody else today, we learn things about ourselves every day."

"Hmm, yeah. Guess we do." Logan grunted began typing again. I knew he had a checkered past that he couldn't remember and that it comes up to bite him every now and then. And since he's Logan, I'm not exactly sure if some of it was good, not so good, or what. The man is always full of surprises, but some are a little bit sensitive, so I decided to get to what he was doing now.

"So, um, what're you doing over here?" I asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm setting up a sim for tomorrow. Cyke and I are gonna race through it and try not to get too maimed." Logan replied. I nodded my head and stepped back.

"Cool. What happens to the loser?"

"I win, extra training courses with me. He wins, he gets to create the most intense Danger Room simulation he can think of, and I'll run through it."

"Hmm, sounds like fun." Suddenly Sabertooth's threatening words went through my mind, and then the thought hit me. I didn't know where I was gonna be or where he was gonna be when he decided to come and try to kill me or my friends, and I had to be ready for that day. Also I'd find it annoying to have to watch my back every few seconds or so. "Hey, you don't mind if I enter this little race, do you?"

"Why?"

"Because I think it'd be good to spend a little bit of time together, and to learn how the three of us evade in intense racing situations."

"I'm not sure it'd be really fair. You can teleport and fly."

"Then I simply won't fly or teleport, I'll use my little feet powers and run."

"What if you lose?"

"You can give me the same penalty as Scott's if you win, and I'll take your penalty with you if Scott wins. And if you both win, you can hit me in the face once with a pillow or something, whichever else you both can think of." Logan stared at me with a raised brow. I put my hands together and pouted my lower lip. "Please? I wanna have a little fun over the weekend with my friends without spending money, and what better way to do that then have my life threatened by buzz saws, lasers, and stuff?" I blinked my eyes a couple times, making Logan grunt under his breath.

"Alright, I guess I can squeeze you in, but you'd better not cheat, bub."

"Thanks. I promise I won't." I said with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to listen to an entire album from the musical, which by the way I've hardly ever thought about, and to prepare for an annihilation."

"Whose exactly?"

"It doesn't really matter. Either way, there's gonna be blood. See ya!" I teleported away, leaving Logan to alter the schematics of tomorrow's training session, and to think of a penalty for me.

_"Hit him in the face with a pillow?"_ He thought.

"Pfft." He said.

**Meanwhile **

Jordan had returned to his apartment in the city, still feeling unsure about what he had seen today. One of his only friends, literally floating off to God knows where, and then later, just now in fact, when he following him behind the school to see where he was going, he just vanished into thin air. He didn't know what he saw, or if he wanted to know that it was what he saw, or if it was just some stupid hoax or something. Whatever it was, it made him shake to the marrow.

"Jordan, is that you?" A voice called out.

"Y-yeah. Hi mom." Jordan replied. Jordan's mother walked out of their living room and met him with a kiss on his forehead.

"How was your day today?" She said.

"It was okay...I guess." Jordan replied. His mother looked at him with a curious expression.

"Jordan, are you okay sweetie?" She asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm just not feeling a hundred percent right now."

"I've been hearing about a bug going around, maybe you should go lie down for now."

"Mom, I'm not sick, I'm just a little bit off today that's all. I'm fine."

"Just make sure you get to the toilet if you have to..."

"Alright, alright." Jordan said, walking up to his room. "Geez." He opened the door before he tossed his backpack to the corner and plopped onto his bed. He let out a deep sigh, almost a small scream, in his covers.

_"Maybe I'm just stressed. Stress makes people see shit all the time, right?" _He flipped over onto his back and closed his eyes tightly _"Who am I kidding? I saw him flying, and I saw him vanish in front of me! Whatever it was, it was real, and whatever Ripley is, that's real too, and I hope to God that he's on the good side."_

**The Next Morning **

I was asleep and dreaming deep and happy dreams full of hot guys looking like Jason, Scott, and their ringleader, Kyle, fondling me and singing the songs from the soundtrack seductively in my ear. I was about to kiss Kyle deeply when all of a sudden he headbutt my forehead, awakening me from my slumber.

"Ow!" I said, rubbing my head before feeling myself fall. "Whoa!" I plopped onto my bed and just about bounced off if I wasn't already awake enough to stop myself. This had happened the previous night. I floated to the ceiling in my sleep, hit my head on the ceiling, woke up, and fell back down to my bed, but then I fell on the floor that time. It would seem that my head injury had affected my powers and some of my control over them. It's a miracle that I hadn't burned the house to the ground by then, even that night when my flames were under some of my control and I torched my room like a suicidal meth lab. That morning I had considered that if I should awaken on the ceiling again, I'd tether myself to my bed, or tether another mattress to the ceiling somehow. Suddenly I heard knocking at my door.

"Who is it?" I said.

"It's Forge, can I come in?" A voice said.

"Yeah, sure. Come in." The door opened and Forge entered my room with a slightly concerned expression on his face.

"You okay Rip?" He asked.

"Yeah, just a little glitch with my powers." I said, standing up from my bed. "It happens sometimes, it's no biggie. Although I may need some help tethering myself to my bed tonight."

"Why's that?"

"The past couple nights, I've been levitating to the ceiling in my sleep and hitting my head. I think it's because of my head injury, or maybe I need to train myself a little bit more. Either way, ow." I rubbed my head to relieve the small bit of pain. Forge chuckled a bit before turning around to the door.

"Well, I hope your day progresses better Cuz."

"What're you going to do today?"

"I'm gonna be in the basement. The Prof said my powers could be of great use in the development center and he's helping me set up a lab down there."

"Cool. I hope you'll enjoy yourself."

"Oh, dude, with all this advanced twenty-first century tech, I'm gonna be tripping the rift in all kinds of ways. See ya."

"Later buddy." I said, waving goodbye to my cousin before silently laughing.

_"His enthusiasm and 70's lingo is so cute. Like a baby watching a TV commercial and screaming 'I want it!' at the top of his breath."_ I thought as I stretched out my limbs and yawned before standing up from my bed and walking to my cabinet. I grabbed my uniform off its hanger and walked over to my dresser. I then pulled out a pair of earrings that resembled little black stars with dark red outlines from my jewelry box before I grabbed a hairbrush, my toothbrush, and a bottle of hairspray and teleported to the front of the nearest bathroom door. I opened it before I saw that Jean was inside.

"Oops!" I said, making Jean jump and turn to face me. I covered my eyes and backed away. I suddenly realized that I wasn't in my bathroom. "I'm sorry, I thought this was the bathroom closest to my room."

"No, it's okay. I'm decent, but I suggest knocking next time." She said.

"Okay. Again, sorry." I walked up to the mirror and began brushing my hair before Jean spoke up.

"What do you think Ripley?" She said. I looked to where she was and saw her holding up a long sleeved red sweater.

"It looks nice. Maybe that one for the day." I replied.

"Hmm, yeah..." She said looking up and down at herself with the sweater before she frowned and shook her head. "Nah."

"Yeah you're right." I said as I grabbed my chin and began to think. "Ooh, how about the green one? Yeah, the green one, those black skinny jeans, a belt, and the black pair of ankle strap sandals. And have your hair in a ponytail." Jean grabbed her hair and held it behind her in a little ponytail as she looked over herself.

"Yeah, I can see that. Thanks Ripley." She said

"It's why I'm here." I replied, putting on the earrings before putting a glob of toothpaste on my toothbrush and began brushing my teeth. "So...how're you and Scott coming along?"

"We're fine. Taking it a bit slow, but I think it's okay."

"Fine? Slow?" I spat the toothpaste from my mouth and began flossing. "Girl, you've been going out practically every day and night."

"We have?"

"Yeah." I threw my floss away before I took my shirt off and began slipping into my uniform's leggings and boots. "I can practically smell the romantic candlelight on you two... Hey!" I quickly covered my chest with my cloak. Jean looked to me and to the door before she shouted out in surprise and covered herself up with the red shirt. Evan was peeping into the bathroom with that camera of his from behind the door.

"What are you doing? Get that camera out of here!" Jean shouted, slamming the door shut with a telekinetic pulse.

"Ugh, boys. You can't live with them, but you can't live without them sometimes. Not unless you don't have a choice." I stopped what I was doing before sighing and looking down at the counter. I couldn't help but think of Kyle, and how disappointed he'd be at me for yesterday. Getting into a pointless feud over another boy with Kitty and Rogue, recklessly putting myself and possibly the others in a dangerous spot for Sabertooth, and lying by omission to Logan. And to put a cherry on top of my deep shit sundae, Logan and Scott were probably going to put me through absolute hell, and probably hit me in the face with something other than a pillow. It was at that moment that I knew I messed up big time, and wished that Kyle was there to help me get out of my jam somehow. Jean sensed my angst and put the sweater on the counter before she put a hand on my shoulder.

"David." She said. I cleared my throat and fixed my hair a bit before spraying it into place with the hairspray and plastered a smile on my face.

"Welp, I gotta go. I'm racing Scott and Logan on the garden course today. Wish me luck, cuz I'm not gonna be flying or teleporting." I said, quickly brushing my hair once more and leaving the restroom with my stuff in my arms. "See you later Jeannie!" Jean looked at the bathroom door where I hastily ran out, and could still feel the negative emotions clouding my mind. As I was running, I could feel small tears flowing from my eyes, and wiped them away before they could exit my eyelids.

**Later **

Outside, Wolverine and Cyclops were standing aloft in front of the computer console from yesterday.

"What're we waiting for Logan?" Cyclops asked.

"We have a third player joining, who's apparently late." Wolverine said.

"Who's joining us?" Cyclops asked. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I dropped out of the sky with the rest of my uniform on.

"Dis-ney re-fer-ence!" I said, singing like Rosie O'Donnell and pointing at them with my thumbs up. "Thank you very much."

"Hey, what took you so long?" Wolverine asked impatiently.

"I'm possibly gonna get evicerated today, but that doesn't mean I gotta look like crap while doing it." I replied, walking beside Wolverine and patting his shoulder. "And you cut the reference a little deeper Logan, good job." He grunted and rolled his eyes as Cyclops laughed under his breath.

"Alright, alright, enough horsing around. Let's get started." Wolverine walked over to the computer and flipped open the console before typing in the command codes to begin the simulation. "Field battle training sim seven, activated." Suddenly some familiar turrets sprung from underneath the ground off the edge of the path leading to the mansion, and a beeping timer began to sound. Wolverine, Cyclops, and I readied ourselves for the race before one loud beep told us to go. The three of us sprinted down the pathway, with Logan taking the lead. I looked up ahead and saw two unfamiliar cannon looking things aiming at us. They each shot metal balls with a strong electric charge right at us. Wolverine punched one away without breaking a sweat, while I pushed a couple of them away with my telekinesis and incinerated another three. Cyclops was busy blasting a few by few at a time. A couple more came towards Wolverine and I and we both jumped right over them at the same time, and in the same style before a square shaped cannon aimed at us and shot two large nets at us.

"Watch your backs!" Cyclops shouted. I turned around and chopped my net in half with a blade of fire, while Wolverine shredded his to pieces. I smiled as I continued running down the path.

"Thanks Scotty, I'm three steps ahead now. Whoo!" I said loudly. From behind us, and the debris, Evan rocketed through the courtyard on his skateboard with his camera in hand and his eye in the lens, capturing everything happening in the simulation. In front of him, and my other companions, I was sprinting along the path when two cannons fired two large bolos at my legs. I jumped over them and they sped right back to Cyclops. He blasted the closest one away, but failed to see the other one still spinning towards him. When he did see it, it was too late to react and his legs were entangled in the ropes, causing him to trip over onto his chest. Evan pointed the camera at him as he rushed by.

"Now that's reality TV." Evan said. Wolverine was close to me before two more cannons came from the ground and shot two more electric balls, this time with spikes. He cut them both in half when they got close to him, two halves flying past Evan's head. "Whoa, awesome!" I was close to the finish line when a strange square shaped cannon appeared directly in front of me. Six large saw blades launched themselves from the cannons.

"Ah!" I shouted out as I ducked down to the ground. Wolverine deflected two of the blades with his claws, but dodged the other four. Wolverine turned his head and saw the four saw blades headed right towards Evan.

"No! Look out!" He shouted, running to him. Evan looked at where Logan was calling before he saw the saw blades coming right for him. Wolverine lunged in front of them, landed in front of Evan, and readied his defenses. I looked to where Wolverine was and saw the blades coming in fast towards him and Evan.

"Whoa, shit!" I shouted as I teleported in front of the both of them and with a gesture, sent all four saw blades spiraling in different directions, one zipping right past my face and embedding itself in the grass. When the danger was over, I let out a little sigh of relief. I turned around to face the two guys.

"You guys okay?" I asked. Wolverine nodded before looking at my face and touching my cheek, making me wince. "Ow."

"Hold still." He said, looking around my face. "Looks like you weren't so lucky Rip, but I think you'll live to fight another day. It's just a little scratch."

"Still kinda hurts. You sure it's not too bad? Am I bleeding?" I asked.

"Only a little. If you get a scar, just slap some face paint or something on there and no one could tell the difference." I laughed a bit before I put my hand on my cheek and felt the little scratch going across its surface before I accidentally touched Logan's fingers. I suddenly felt a very peculiar feeling of euphoria run through my body and looked at Logan's face. I couldn't be certain, but it looked like his eyes were sparkling under his mask. I tilted my head in fascination before he quickly let go of me. He then glared at Evan as he grabbed him by his shirt.

"What do you think you're doing here, bub? Those things could've taken your empty head right off!" He shouted, knocking Evan's head.

"But Ripley..." Evan protested.

"I ain't talking about the Rip, Porcupine! He was doing what he was supposed to be doing."

"I was just trying to get some..." Wolverine saw the camera and grabbed it from the kid.

Gimme that thing!" He said.

"Hey, give it back!" Evan said. Logan looked over the device before he suddenly found the erase button and pushed it hard. "Aw man, why'd you do that?"

"Let's just say you got on my bad side." Logan replied before skimming over the other footage. "Let's see what else you got on this machine." I looked over Wolverine's shoulder at the footage when the image of Logan driving up to the front gate.

"Ooh, nice angle." I said before raising a brow. "Wait a minute, you were at school. How'd you get footage like this Evan?"

"Its focus is just that good." Evan said.

"Nice." In the footage, Logan removed his helmet before the film shifted suddenly to a familiar and scary looking face.

_"Thank you for showing me where to find Logan, kid. I owe ya one." _He said, growling menacingly before the film shut off. Wolverine and I growled silently under our breaths.

"That son of a bitch." I muttered.

"Who the hell was that?" Evan said.

"Sabertooth." Wolverine growled, handing the camera back to Evan.

"He's got old issues with Wolverine, and it looks like you clued him in to our location." Cyclops said as an alarm began to boom over the speakers.

"Yeah, you think?" Wolverine said, unsheathing his claws and taking off for the front gate. At the gate, Sabertooth pulled the bars apart and stepped onto the grounds. On top of a small hill near the gate, a brigade of turrets sprung out of the ground and began blasting red stun lasers at the intruder. Sabertooth quickly evaded the gunfire and continued running. Inside the house, Xavier was at a large computer console, monitoring the situation and the security systems. From a camera placed in one special turret, he could see Sabertooth dodging and avoiding the shots fired at him, getting closer and closer to the weapon until he got really close. Then there was nothing but static. Outside, we followed Wolverine and saw the large turret get destroyed and blown to pieces.

_"Guess I know what Forge has been doing down there." _I thought.

"Not bad Logan, but not good enough!" Sabertooth shouted, clearing the smoke.

_"Logan, I thought you said that Sabertooth wouldn't follow you here." _Xavier's voice rang through our minds.

_"I did last time, Charles, but this time he had help." _Wolverine said in his mind, pointing at Evan with his claws.

"It's all my fault. What've I done?" Evan said. I grabbed Evan's shoulders and pulled him back.

"Hey, enough pity partying. Get back." I said, looking Sabertooth dead in the face. "I thought I told you to get out of town Sabertooth!"

"When did you tell him that, Rip?!" Wolverine said. Sabertooth smirked at me.

"I don't take orders from snot nosed punks, kid!" Sabertooth said.

"You would if you wanted to live." I said darkly. My eyes began glowing brightly as I walked towards the older man. Bright blue flames began to encircle me as I levitated about an inch above the ground. From behind us, the other X-Men emerged from the mansion simultaneously and rushed towards the battle about to begin. I looked behind me and saw the other X-Men approaching. **"And now, you're quadrupley screwed." **Everyone closed in on the man, and Sabertooth growled in anticipation of the ensuing fight about to happen.

"He's mine." Wolverine growled as Sabertooth threw a punch at him, but blocked it with his claws. They kept exchanging punches and blocking them before a large breeze came.

"No, this is not the place for your private war!" Storm said, whipping up a large gust of wind out of nowhere and blasting it at Sabertooth. He wasn't moving that much until she blasted him with bolts of lightning. It moved him away from Wolverine, but it wasn't stopping him from trying to get closer to him. Cyclops opened his visor and began blasting him, making him move back a bit, but he still kept coming. Jean took notice of a bench near her and flung it at Sabertooth with her mind, knocking him to the ground. But he got right back up again. Right as he did however, Storm began blasting him with more lightning, but he still wouldn't let up.

**"For the love of Christ, get outta here you persistent ape bastard!"** I shouted as I sent a thick blast of fire at the man, causing him to lose his footing and blow away in the fierce winds. He landed in a heap before shaking his head and looking to us in a feral deep anger.

"This isn't over, Logan!" Sabertooth shouted, running off back to the now ruined front gate. Wolverine snarled before he ran after the man.

"Wolverine, no!" Storm shouted, but it was too late. Wolverine already raced off into the distance and was gone from eyesight within seconds.

"Vhere's Ripley?" Nightcrawler said. The other X-Men looked around before Cyclops took notice of the ground.

"Oh no." He said. In front of the group, the start of a trail of singed grass was pointing right towards the gate. I had taken off at a high speed to catch up with Wolverine in case he needed help in taking down Sabertooth, and I was hoping to dish out Sabertooth's punishment for defying me and coming after Logan. His coming after Logan for some stupid vendetta irritated me enough, but what really pissed me off was his method of tracking him down. Using a kid, and one of my friends to be precise. I only met the man once and two other short times, but by then I felt like I had known what kind of a man he was.

_"Total. Bitch." _I thought as I continued my flight over the trees. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of Wolverine standing by a long stream near the bushes of a thicket.

"Logan!" I called out. Wolverine flinched before he turned around and saw me coming towards him.

"Ripley, what...?" He said before I landed near him and began walking around the area to hopefully scope Sabertooth out.

"Where is he? Where is that mullet haired asshole?" I said. Wolverine glared furiously at me.

"I told you to back off!" I looked back at him.

"I'm sorry, you were saying something just now?"

"Bub, do not push me." While still walking, I stuck both of my pinkie fingers into my ears and began swishing them around inside.

"Really, I must have, like, an earwig or something in both of my ears, cause I can't hear what you're saying at all." Wolverine suddenly grabbed me by my collar, turned me around, and pulled me in close to his face with a growl. "Logan, you're a little close."

"This isn't a joke, David! Sabertooth ain't a guy to mess around with! What were you thinking? You have no idea what he'd do to you!"

"Oh please. You'd know what I could do to him, you've seen it, smelled it. He's got a little taste of my power before, and he knows to stay the hell out of my way and heed my warnings."

"You can't know that!" I raised a brow at Logan and smiled.

"I can't?"

"No!" My smile went away quickly.

"And why not? Because you love being alone in this constant fight of yours? I'm sorry, but you're not alone in this fight anymore. He has it out for me too, and he's threatened my friends one time too many, so if you try to force me away from this, you're gonna be in big trouble, bub." Wolverine pushed me away before walking a few steps and growling under his breath.

"You're grounded." He said. There was a short silence.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Solitary confinement, to the house, now." Wolverine said, walking away from me. I stood there with a surprised expression before it melted into an angry sneer. I scoffed and walked out in the direction the mansion.

"Fine." I walked on a few steps before looking at Logan and smirking. "One more thing, I have no intention of 'messing around' with him. I'd rather keep my innocence hepatitis free until I'm done with high school."

"Go!" I teleported quickly away to my room as he roared and felt my feet land firmly on the floor. I angrily stripped my uniform off piece by piece until I was standing near my bed in only my leggings and plopped myself onto it face first. I let out a deep, growling sigh into my pillow.

_"Very smooth Rip, very smooth." _I thought as tears leaked from my eyes. I wasn't scared of Sabertooth at all, I nearly destroyed the bastard a whole month ago, but I couldn't help this strange surge of emotions running through me. I guess that maybe I was a bit scared of him, not for me, but for the others, but I couldn't help but feel even more terrified of myself. When I entered my other form the last time Sabertooth and I faced off, every bit of human feeling left me and was replaced by this rush of power, adrenaline, and an ecstasy I couldn't understand. I didn't care about him, or anything else, all I could think of was all of the things my power could do to him. I was almost like that again just now, and it scared the hell out of me. But I think what really got to me then at that moment, were the ways Jean and Logan used my first name this morning, it just sort of hit me in the face. Even after living a month and a half in the mansion, I was still trying to get used to people, besides Kyle, treating me like someone worth protecting and care about to call me by my first name. I was also feeling like that maybe if I could've handled the situation better, if I told Logan that Sabertooth was in town instead of provoking him, he'd probably never have found where Logan and the rest of us lived. And I think the scratch on my face was getting infected or something, because it was really starting to burn. I turned over on my back and stood up to look at my scratch in the mirror. When I got to my dresser's mirror, I saw that a small light was flickering on my face before going away as it came. I touched my face and felt around my cheek where the scratch was supposed to be and saw that it disappeared. Not even a scar was present.

_"Huh."_ I thought. Curious, I reached to the back of my head . The last time I checked on my cranium, there was a little bump with a large scab on it, but now the wound was completely gone. I've always been a fast healer, but my injuries took at least a week to heal, not just a day or a few minutes. I looked down at my arm and saw the large surgical scar I carried around ever since I was a little. _"I guess scars from the past don't count." _ I clenched a fist and punched the wall next to the mirror. I looked at my hand and lowered it before I took notice of the dent I made in the wall. I looked at myself in the mirror before I clenched my fists and glared to the window outside. Even though he was nowhere to be seen, I could feel that Sabertooth was still out there somewhere, waiting. And I pitied the poor man if I ever got my sights on him, because I didn't know if I could control myself.

**Later (Normal POV)**

Wolverine and Xavier were standing in front of the security console discussing the events that had just unfolded.

"He'll be back you know." Wolverine said.

"Well, he won't come here again." Xavier said "He will know that if he does, the fully automated defense systems will detect him." Wolverine sniffed before crossing his arms.

"That's the problem. He'll wanna get me away from here, get me alone. And for that to happen, he's gonna need..."

"A hostage?"

"Hmm, got it in one." Xavier crossed his hands and leaned forward.

"Then that means that all of the students are in danger." While the instructors were talking, Evan was listening in. When they stopped, he left the room quietly. "Do you believe he might choose someone in particular?"

"Spyke maybe for luring him here, but I think Ripley might also be a prime target for beating him down and getting on his last nerve." Wolverine said, clenching his fists. "And I gotta do something about it." Outside in the hall, Evan was staring angrily at his camera.

"See what kinda trouble you caused?" He said to himself before looking up at the ceiling. "If only there was some way I can fix this mess." Suddenly he heard two arguing voices coming up from another part of the hallway.

"Ah need to audition for tomorrow and you've been hogging the soundtrack all morning!" Rogue shouted.

"Hey, I bought it, get your own." Kitty said. Evan perked up as an idea sprung to mind. He quickly walked up to the bickering girls.

"Ladies! Ladies!" He said. "Maybe we can all help each other out here." Rogue and Kitty looked at Evan with annoyed sneers.

"What do you want?!" They both shouted.

"Look, do you think you could stop arguing for a few minutes to help me with something important?" The girls looked to each other before Rogue looked at Evan again.

"Like what?" Rogue said. Evan smiled before he took Kitty by the hand.

"I'll explain on the way." He said as he led the girls through the halls. "But as a little warning, we may need to do a little improvising."

**(Ripley's POV)**

_I opened my door and walked out before bumping into Scott._

_"Hey Scott, you going out?" I said._

_"Yeah, for a burger. You wanna come?" Scott said._

_"That's a sweet offer, but I'm grounded."_

_"Yeah. Going off after Sabertooth like that, I can't imagine someone not grounding you." I frowned when he said that._

_"Would you have gone after him? You can split the ground in two by looking at it, would you not go after him and make sure he wouldn't bother anyone else?"_

_"Yeah, but power doesn't mean experience. Sabertooth is, like, three times as old as you Ripley. Who knows what skills he has in the years behind him with his powers. You only have two months with your powers, and only some fighting skills. You're lucky he hasn't killed you Ripley."_

_"It wasn't luck Scott. It was fear. He feared me. And for good reason." I said. "My fighter's sense, my blazing head thingy, when those turn on, all of my emotions are switched off and I feel this...rush of energy, and a powerful feeling of euphoria. But it makes me apathetic, nothing else matters, except for one impulse."_

_"Which is?"_

_"Do what you want to the son of a bitch. Beat him, toy with him, torture him..." I felt the tears going down my eyes and wiped them away. "Anything to have a little fun with them, and get them out of your sight." Scott stood there silently with his mouth open. "I can't stand it, but if anything comes to hurt you, any of you, I won't hesitate to let out my other self to bring them down to their knees and beg for mercy. When it comes to my greatest ability, to scare my enemies, experience can kiss my ass." _

_"Word of advice, don't let it control you David. It'd destroy you, and it'd be horrible here without you."_

_"Don't worry Scotty, I couldn't bear to do that to you." Scott walked close to me and put a hand on my cheek. I put my hand over his and looked into his ruby shades. I leaned in close to his face, and he leaned into mine before I was stopped by a soft cushion in my face._

"Ah!" I shouted, jumping up to the ceiling and looking around. "What the...?!" I floated down to my bed and checked the time. It was one in the afternoon, two hours since Sabertooth broke onto the grounds.

_"When did I fall asleep?" _I thought. I felt the back of my head and felt nothing of my head injury before I walked to my mirror and looked at my face. The scratch too was gone. _"So that wasn't all a dream after all, but what parts were the dream?" _I walked overto the balcony and breathed in the afternoon air before looking around everywhere. _"I wonder if Sabertooth is still out there somewhere."_ I then took a glance at Kitty, Rogue, and Evan, who were rolling away on a moped with Evan riding behind on his skateboard. _"Where do they think they're going?"_ I racked my brain to figure it out when I suddenly remembered. I looked to my desk where I put the soundtrack to the musical Kitty bought and saw that it was gone.

"Shit!" I said. Rogue and Kitty must have swiped the CD back from my room when I was knocked out if not when I was outside training. Evan must have taken them to practice with the soundtrack to practice somewhere and get some footage for his movie. I quickly went to my cabinet and pulled out a purple turtleneck before going to my dresser to pull out some black jeans, a silver and black stripped belt, and a black pair of knee height socks before grabbing my black shoes. After spraying some deodorant on myself and changing out of my uniform's pants and into my outfit, I walked out of my room and bumped into Scott.

"Excuse me. Sorry Scott." I said.

"It's okay." He said before looking me in the face. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"After you took off with Logan for Sabertooth, I got a little worried. And when Logan said he sent you to your room, I checked on you to make sure you were alright and you were laid out on your bed."

"I guess the stress made me tired. But I'm awake now, and ready to go out."

"Logan also said you were grounded."

"Oh...yeah, I forgot."

"But I don't think being grounded means starving to death though. When did you eat last?"

"Since...yesterday? I think I forgot to eat breakfast and I haven't had lunch yet. Why?"

"I'm gonna head out for a burger, would you like to come with me?"

"Why not go with Jean?"

"Jean's helping Forge and the Professor with something, and I want to make sure you eat something today. Stress of the day and all."

"Um...sure, okay." I walked beside Scott, but then I went back to my dream. He asked me out for a burger in the dream, and now I was awake and he asked me out for a burger. I couldn't tell if it was a coincidence or something, but no matter how hot I was for Scott, I couldn't just take him, he had Jean. And they were perfect for each other. But still, the coincidence kind of shook me up a bit. My thoughts then turned to Jason, and then to Kyle, and then to Rogue and Kitty. Jason would never be into me, he'd be a nice guy to be around, but he wouldn't want me the same way Kyle would, the same went for Scott as well. And if Kitty had a shot with him, I should've been more supportive. And Rogue was right, though I would've been great, she was totally made for that play. I let out a deep sigh.

"What's that for?" Scott asked.

"Nothing big. It's just been a hell of a few days, you know?" I said.

"Yeah, I guess it has. How's the head?" I was about to answer him when we both suddenly took notice of Logan in his uniform, with that angry little sneer on his face. I was a bit nervous from our conversation earlier, and I was hoping he wasn't mad at me. He took notice of us, making me quiver in my shoes.

"We're heading out for a burger." Scott said.

"No you ain't, bub." Wolverine said. "Until I nail that hairball, none of you are going nowhere."

"Aw, man." Scott said. Wolverine turned around and faced Scott right in the face.

"Don't even start!" He turned and looked me in the eye. His eyes weren't really sparkling that much anymore, it was as like they were on fire. "And I thought I told you to go to your room, Ripley."

"I needed some lunch." I said quietly. Wolverine sniffed before looking to Scott.

"Where are the others?" He asked.

"Uh, Kurt and Jean are upstairs, Forge is in the basement, and I think Rogue and Kitty just took off with Evan." Scott replied. Wolverine grunted before he unsheathed his claws, making me and Scott flinch and squeal.

"We'll go with you." Scott said.

"No, you two stay put watch over the others." Wolverine replied, walking out the door. I was hesitant at first, but I clenched my fists as the impulse to follow him overtook me.

"Come on Ripley, we'd better go make sure everyone is accounted for." Scott said before looking to me and saw that I was staring at the front door. "Ripley, there's nothing we can do to help. Logan needs to do this himself this time."

"Like hell." I replied, vanishing from sight.

"Ripley, wait!" Scott said, but it was too late. I was already long gone.

**Meanwhile (Normal POV) **

In a small clearing in a woodland area near the mansion, Kitty and Rogue were dancing away to the music soundtrack playing, and Evan was getting it all on film. Kitty was dancing like she was a vampire hostage waiting to be taken, but Rogue was just shifting around like a zombie begging to be put back in the ground.

"Come on, Rogue, get with the program. Shake that thing." Evan said. Rogue put her hands on her hips and scoffed.

"Hey, she's got her moves, Ah got mine." She protested.

"Yeah, girl, you gotta go with it." Kitty said, continuing to dance to the music. "You know, you're, like, a walking zombie or something."

"Hey, listen, Rogue, how about you shed those gloves and give K-girl a tap."

"What?" Rogue said.

"No way!" Kitty protested.

"Listen to me. Just enough to rip Kitty's moves." From behind the group, a figure peered at them through the brush and the shrubs.

"It might work." Rogue said, removing her right glove. "Just concentrate on 'em." Kitty looked at her hand nervously before sighing.

"Okay, but you, like, better not lay me out." She said, reaching out to Rogue. The girls fingers hesitantly approached each other before they touched, pulling Kitty's energy from her body and into Rogue. After a split second, the girls let go before shivering uncomfortably in their shoes like they were just violated.

"That was, like, pretty ick-some." Rogue said before realizing what she said. "Am Ah talking like her?!"

"Okay, let's get with the program." Evan said, turning the camera back on. Rogue put her glove back on before the two of them prepared for the next shot. "And action!" Kitty turned the music back on, and right as she did, Rogue suddenly burst into dance before Kitty began to follow along with her own dance moves. "Looking good, looking good!" Behind Evan, the figure was moving in closer. Oblivious to the eminent danger, Evan continued to film the two girls as their dance moves began to interact with the other's moves. They were about to perform a dual dance move when Egan heard a strange noise and turned around to see Sabertooth charging at them. He shouted out in surprise before tripping on the music player and falling on his back. Sabertooth grinned at the three kids before eyeing the music player and stomping it under his foot.

"You're mine!" He growled as he picked Evan up over his head with a triumphant roar. Rogue glared at the man as she removed her glove again.

"We've been expecting you." Evan said before he covered his body with extra thick spikes, scratching and sticking Sabertooth in his arms and hands and making him roar in pain. "You gotta be sharp if you wanna mess with the Spike!" Sabertooth snarled before he tossed Evan aside at Rogue, knocking her down. Kitty winced at how painful the landing looked before she saw Sabertooth charge at her.

"Fine, I'll take you!" He shouted. He tried to grab Kitty, but she phased through his front and out of his back and he just fell flat on his face.

"Pfft, right, I'm so sure." She said, looking to her fallen friends. She saw that Rogue was regaining consciousness, but failed to see Sabertooth sneaking up behind her. And when she did notice him, he backhanded her hard in the face, sending her flying into a tree and knocking her out. Rogue had managed to push Evan off of her before she gasped in fear. Sabertooth was walking right towards Kitty to claim his hostage.

"Back off, fugly!" Rogue shouted. Sabertooth turned around and growled at the sassy southern goth girl before she got up. He charged at her and grabbed her wrists before picking her up. He had her arms in a deadlock and she couldn't bend her arms to even tap hum with her unprotected hand. She struggled, but it was no use. Rogue furiously glared at Sabertooth, who just smirked at her before he sniffed the air.

"Picking on kids now Creed?" A voice said before Wolverine exploded from the brush. "Big mistake." Wolverine charged at Sabertooth, knocking him down and getting him to release Rogue. The men slid on the ground before stopping abruptly.

"Yeah? Why?" Sabertooth said, retaining his smirk.

"Because it really ticks me off!" Wolverine roared before standing and tossing Sabertooth away. He went through the area and landed and was about to charge again before blue fireballs hot him from behind.

"Hey, Candypants!"

**(Ripley's POV)**

Everyone looked at me as my eyes and hands began glowing with flame.

"You like meatballs?" I said. "'Cause I think you'll like these." I threw large balls of blue flames at him, but he kept dodging the attacks and getting closer and closer to me.

"Ripley, get back, now!" Wolverine shouted.

"No offense, but no crazy-ass motherfucker threatens my friends and gets off without sampling my wrath." I replied, blasting a large arch of flame at Sabertooth. As he covered his face from the attack, I teleported behind him and reached under his trench coat before I started to poke his sides rapidly. "Tickle, tickle, tickle." Sabertooth growled and began to swipe at me rapidly.

"You're really begging for it kid!" Sabertooth roared as he punched at me. I went under his arm and tripped him up onto his back before standing over him with a smile.

"Not as much as you are, sweetheart." I replied. He grabbed my leg and flung me away to one side before I caught myself in the air and landed gracefully on the ground. Sabertooth charged at me with a roar before I stood firmly in place and began to concentrate on my telekinesis. I did this the day I saved Rogue and Scott, which was a huge breakthrough from spilling cereal boxes with my mind, but it was mostly as a barrage, not a barrier, or a lethal barrier. When my powers began to wade after my head injury, I didn't know if I could fully trust them, but due to the circumstances, I couldn't afford to be sketchy. However, seeing my injuries healing up quickly before my eyes, at least one of them and the other nowhere to be seen, I gained a little more confidence in the effectiveness of my abilities. I closed my eyes and felt a surge of energy surround me.

"Ripley, move!" Kitty shouted.

"Rip, move it!" Evan shouted. I stood there in that one spot, listening to Sabertooth's footsteps advance closer and closer to me, and his roar getting louder and louder. When he came at just the right moment, I opened my eyes and unleashed my force field upon the man, hitting him square in the face. It wasn't a really big barrier, but it was powerful enough to catch him off guard and knock him back a few feet. He rolled and tumbled along the ground before coming to a complete stop.

"Yes!" I shouted. The younger X-Men cheered and shouted at my triumph.

"Whoo! Go Ripley!" Kitty shouted. I smiled before I walked over to my fallen opponent. When I got to him, I kneeled down close to him. I smiled as I grabbed his cheek and wiggled it with a little chuckle before slapping him in the face.

"Aww, poor little pussycat couldn't handle the heat." I said.

"Rip, get away from him!" Wolverine shouted.

"No worries Logan, this guy's totally bitched out." I said before Sabertooth suddenly grabbed my throat with a little roar, making me gasp in surprise and grab at his large padded forearm.

"Ripley!" Evan shouted.

"No!" Kitty shouted. Wolverine walked forward a bit before Sabertooth looked him in the eye.

"Don't come any closer Wolverine, or the kid's gonna need a hearse!" He shouted, making Wolverine take a step back and look at me. Sabertooth looked deep into my eyes with a thirsty little growl. I placed my fear on a shelf and plastered my fake smile.

"Nice death grip, I'm almost all deathy." I choked out.

"Yeah you are." Sabertooth said with a sadistic smirk. I returned the smirk with one of my own.

"So what're you waiting for, fucker? Do it." I said, closing my eyes and tilting my head back.

"Let him go Creed! It's me you're after, leave him out of this!" Wolverine said. I sensed everyone's fear, and just about drowned under it and my own, but then I heard another small set of footsteps advancing towards us, and out of everyone out there, including myself and Sabertooth, I only saw three others. I put a deadlock on my tears and gave a little smile.

"Go on ahead, we both know the next time we meet I'll most likely do you in, so unless you wish a painful death upon yourself, do it. Or are you a big fat chicken?" Sabertooth slowly readied his claws to finish me off when I heard him scream in pain before he released his grip on my throat and dropped us both to the ground. I opened my eyes and looked behind the fallen man to see Rogue with her glove off. And as I looked at her bare hand for the first time, it started to grow thick patches of brown fur and claws. Rogue looked at her hand, moaning in pain at the other constant changes her body was going through. Her hair grew longer and a bit more shaggy, her body became covered with the same fur on her hand, she grew taller in stature, and her muscles grew bigger. She gave a little roar and tensed up as her pants tore a bit, revealing more fur, and little toe claws burst out of her shoes.

"Aw, and Ah just shaved mah legs last night!" Rogue moaned as she parted her hair. I rubbed my neck to relieve the pain and took a few sharp breaths before I looked from Rogue to Sabertooth a couple times with a raised brow and an inquisitive expression.

_"Hmm, Sabertooth doesn't have that much hair on his body."_ I thought before my eyes widened in curious horror. _"Or...does he?"_ I looked at Sabertooth again and looked over him thoroughly before stopping myself at his pants and shaking my head.

"Eeeeuuuuu..." I said, quivering in my own pants.

_"Never mind, never mind."_ Wolverine stepped up to Rogue and I before looking down at Sabertooth.

"Nice. The finishing touches." Wolverine said, looking right at Evan. "You planned all this, didn't you Porcupine?"

"Um, a little bit, yeah." Evan said nervously. Wolverine furiously walked right into Evan's face.

"Well don't do it again, you could've all gotten yourselves killed!" Logan yelled as Kitty looked at him with her sorry eyes. "And don't give me them puppy dog eyes half-pint. You're grounded, and so are the rest of you! And you Ripley, you just bought yourself a one way ticket to hell."

"Meh, inevitable in retrospect I guess." I said. Everyone looked at me with weirded out looks.

"For how long?" Evan asked. Logan grunted deeply after he hoisted Sabertooth on his shoulders and sighed.

"I don't know." He said looking to Rogue. "Till She-Wolf there gets a haircut anyway."

"Shame. Rogue looks pretty cute with long hair." I said, moving some of Rogue's locks behind her shoulders.

"R-really?" She asked.

"Sure, make me jealous why don't ya?" I replied, making Rogue frown, though I could tell she was amused by my joke. Wolverine walked away with Sabertooth on his shoulders.

"Let's go." Wolverine said. We all followed right behind him.

"What're you going to do with Sabertooth now?" Kitty said.

"Yeah, Scott says you've been duking at it for years." Evan said.

"He and I got some unfinished business." Wolverine said.

"So, what's gonna happen to him?" Rogue said.

"Let's just say he needs a cooling off period."

"Ooh, can I watch?" I asked.

"You're all staying right in your rooms until the Professor and I get back, bub." We kept on walking for a while before I found the nerve to talk to Kitty and Rogue.

"Rogue, Kitty?" Both of the girls turned around to face me. "About yesterday. You guys can have the parts in the play if you want. I'm not really into acting, there was just a cute guy, he needed help, and I was just being a total bitch when I shouldn't have, so I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Princess." Rogue said before she closed her fist and punched my arm.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"Sorry, Sabertooth's last impulse before Ah laid him out."

"It's okay, but still, ow. Tell you what, why don't you stop by the bathroom near my room, and I'll help you shave your all-of-your arms?"

"Sounds great." I looked at Evan, who was pointing his camera directly at me. I smiled a bit as we kept on walking towards the mansion.

**Later **

I was in the bathroom with Rogue, with tons upon tons of plastic sheeting and body hair all over the floor. The bathtub was also filled with warm water It was really kind of gross, but honestly, in a weird way, this was so much more fun than being part of a musical with a hot guy. I was shaving her arms with a small plastic razor while Rogue was going nuts on her legs with two electric razors, one of them being the brand new one I got yesterday. I wouldn't want that razor back after this.

"I'm done with your hand and forearm. How're you doing with your legs?" I said as I put the razor down in the tub to rinse it off.

"Ah swear Ripley, it's like it keeps coming and coming out of nowhere. How the hell does that guy stay so thinned out?"

"Shouldn't you know? You have the man's mind in your brain, right?

"Ah have the man's hair all over my body, Ah ain't letting his sick mind anywhere near mah brain."

"That didn't stop you from hitting me."

"Ah said sorry."

"And I forgave you, but I still have a bruise on my arm." I raised a brow and looked up at the ceiling in thought. I still had a bruise on my arm, but my scratch from the saw blade I got only a couple hours ago was completely gone. I guessed that it was one of those things that just came and went. Like the pain in a remodeled bone injury in the change of seasons or in extreme changes in climate.

"Hey, Princess?" Rogue said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked at Rogue, who was giving me a curious look.

"Sorry." I said before tossing away the razor in my hand to the trash and pulling out a third one from a pack. "I was just thinking about recent events. Today, yesterday, the day before that and then some."

"You go to the past a lot." Rogue said. I looked at her with a raised brow.

"Yeah, I do. How do you...?" Rogue looked down at the floor before I knew what her answer was going to be. "Oh...right. When I hit my head..."

"Saving mah life."

"Yeah. How much did you take?"

"Just enough." Rogue suddenly some tears began to flow from her eyes. "Josh, Ah'm so sorry about Kyle."

"Thank you Rogue, but you know that's not my name anymore. My name is David Allen Ripley."

"And no one better fucking forget it." I looked to Rogue, and she at me with a little smile. I smiled back at her before beginning to shave her shoulder.

_"Ripley, would you mind coming to my office?" _Xavier's voice suddenly rang in my head. I sighed before I stood up.

"Sorry to cut this short Rogue, but I've gotta go. Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?" I said.

"Sure, go on ahead. Ah'll be here, trying not to choke on a furball and die." I chuckled before leaving the bathroom and coughing a little.

_"Not before I do."_ I thought as I vanished and appeared in Xavier's office, still coughing.

"Are you alright Ripley?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah, it's just that I think I inhaled enough hair to make two more Rogues." I said, coughing one last time and clearing my throat. "Whoo! Anyway, you wanted to see me ?"

"Yes." Xavier pointed to a chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit." I sat down on the chair and crossed my legs. "Ripley, before Sabertooth's attacks, did you converse with him the previous day?" My face went blank before I straightened up in the chair.

"Yes, I did."

"Why didn't you tell us he was in town?" Logan said.

"Because the last time we met, we fought and I took him down hard. I expected him to run off the minute I brought it up, but I suppose that was just arrogance on my part. Though this time, I think he'll think differently before tackling me or anyone else here."

"No, he won't. I wiped his mind of our location, and the events of the past few days. He'll never come here again."

"Well, guess things are all good now."

"Not really, bub." I looked at Logan and then Xavier before raising a brow in confusion.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Ripley, do you want to die?" Xavier said. I raised a brow at the man with a surprised expression on my face.

"What? Why would you ask that?" I said, alarmingly.

"Logan told me that during your battle with Sabertooth, he had you in his grip."

"Yeah, he did."

"Everyone heard you say something. Logan says that you were goading Sabertooth to kill you." I sighed a bit before plastering a blank look on my face.

"It was a distraction. He needed a hostage to get some one on one time with Logan, and when he got one, me, I had to be sure that he wouldn't leave yet so someone could make a move. So yeah, I goaded him, and now we got him stranded off...where exactly?"

"Antarctica."

"In Antarctica, so what's the problem again?"

"The problem, bub, is that you've been very careless lately. You've been nothing but a guardian angel for others, but for yourself..." Logan said.

"What?"

"It's like you don't care about yourself at all." I frowned at the two older men.

"I do care about myself. Why do you think I'm still going to school? Hell, why do you think I'm still alive? I could've done over a thousand things to end my life before I even came here to Bayville, and a million more after my powers emerged. But I didn't. I can't do that to myself, not when it'd have too strong an impact on others. If I did that, I'd be less noble than Sabertooth and far more brutish than my father." The room went silent for a while before I spoke up again. "Although, you are right. I have been a bit careless. With these powers I have, it's hard to not do anything with them. Sometimes I don't know what I'm going to do next with them. And it's so much fun to just do stuff with them, you know?"

"Yes, having your gifts is a remarkable thing, but it's how and when to use them is what really is important. And being smart about how to treat them, and yourself, is another large part." Xavier said.

"I understand Professor. I apologize for my recklessness, and I'm sorry I made you both worry. I'll try, no, I will be more careful with them, and more so with myself. However, when the need comes, I won't hesitate to bring another hulking behemoth down if all else seems to be to a fault. If I can defend my friends, I refuse to back away."

"Understood, thank you Ripley. However, you are on probation for a week for putting yourself in danger and defying Logan's orders." Xavier said.

"Seems fair." I said, shrugging. "Can I go help Rogue continue to shave? She's getting a bit hot under it all and there's no part for a She-Beast in the play."

"You may go." I smiled and stood up. I took a glance at Logan, and I felt a great knot in my gut. I still felt like I needed to say something to him, and only him. I walked out of the office before taking a nearby chair and sat down. After a few minutes, Logan stepped out of the room. He flinched when he saw me.

"Logan, can I talk to you? In private?" I asked.

"What's up that you couldn't have said two seconds ago?" He said, crossing his arms.

"Because I just wanted to talk to you." I closed my eyes, and with a rush of wind, I felt my feet land on the floor. I opened my eyes and saw that both Logan and I were in my room. "Please, sit." Logan looked around before walking to my bed and sat down on the edge. I walked in front of him before sitting myself in the air a few inches in front of him.

"First of all, I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I didn't mean to sass you or make you angry, my fighter's sense was active and I couldn't stop myself. And I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Rip. But you need to get yourself under control when you're like that."

"Well, today..." I stopped talking for a moment before sighing. "I tried my best to keep it together, but when I saw Sabertooth yesterday, my heart leapt to my throat." Logan raised a brow at me. "But it wasn't because I was afraid of him, I was afraid of myself."

"Why?"

"The last time we fought, my head ignited and my voice changed like before. And every time, I felt...powerful, in control, and in a way...perfect. But I just about lost my humanity. I didn't care how much I burnt him, how much I mangled him, and I didn't care how happy I'd be if he had died." I felt my tears well up in my eyes. "And today, I almost went to that dark place again. I wanted to punish him, torture him, and end him permanently for defying me, despite myself. And then when I finally managed to simmer down, when he had me in his grip, if Rogue hadn't touched him and laid him out, I could've actually died. I was taunting him, and I felt that someone could've gotten to him, but if I was wrong, if no one didn't interfere and I let myself go, would I be better off if he did kill me when he had the chance?" Logan hesitated, but he reached over and grabbed my hands.

"Bub, first of all stop the damn cryin'. I know you're an emotional guy, but you really gotta get over it. And second, to answer your last question; no." I looked Logan in the face, and saw the most sincere almost emotional look I've ever seen on him. "I want you to listen to me David Ripley, we all have good and bad impulses go through our heads sometimes, sometimes a lot, sometimes not so much, but it's how we act on them that really counts. Sometimes we do go to dark places, I sure as hell go to a lot of dark places, but I focus on what means the most to me. And bub, that's exactly what you were doing. You saved your friends, your teammates, and you kept an almost level head when you faced Sabertooth. You still have some growing to do, but in time, someday, I know you'll be great. And it'll be an honor to meet the kinda man you'll become." I looked at Logan, his words of sincerity going through my head, and saw him grin at me. I was blindsided and absolutely speechless. I tried not to, but I felt my tears beginning to flow again.

"I'm sorry." I said, wiping my eyes quickly and taking in a big breath. "That was...just the nicest thing you've ever said to me. And, this might be out of place or whatever, but..." I wrapped my arms around Logan and gave him a hug. He held his arms up awkwardly to the sides before he placed them on my shoulders. The same feelings of euphoria I experienced earlier when I touched him filled me again. Before I let it consume me, I quickly released Logan. "Anyway, um, thank you." I walked away from the man, leaving him dazed and confused on my bed. I walked out of my room before taking a deep breath and letting it out. I felt so much better, even though I was grounded, but I really didn't care. I smiled as I walked along the halls.

"Hey Ripley!" Logan said from behind me. I turned around and before I got to face him, Logan swiftly hit me in the face with something soft really hard. I looked at the object and saw that it was a pillow from my bed. I widened my eyes and looked Logan in the face.

"But, I didn't lose the race." I said.

"No, but you cheated." Logan replied. "And you get extra time with me in the Danger Room starting next Monday after school."

"Oh come on, I saved your life!" Logan sneered at me before walking away.

"You teleported, bub, you cheated." I scoffed and walked after him.

"Again, to save your life, ten feet behind me and, like fifty from the finish line. Come on, gimme a break." He didn't take it easy on me unfortunately.

**Two Days Later **

Everyone in the house were all gathered in the main lobby for a special presentation when I appeared upside down near the ceiling with Kurt.

"You bring the popcorn?" He asked.

"Yup." I said, holding the bowl of popcorn upside down with my telekinesis.

"No butter?"

"Butter has fat and a lot more calories." Kurt frowned before I took a small handful and put it in my mouth.

"Come down from there you two, it's about to start." Ororo said. Kurt jumped down from the ceiling and I followed suit with the popcorn before landing next to Kitty.

"Popcorn, no butter?"

"Sweet. Thanks." She said, taking a few kernels and eating them. Evan put a DVD in the player before sitting down next to me and pressing play on the remote. The television barred on before the footage of Bayville came to view.

_"Welcome to Bayville, my new home. It's really laid back compared to New York City where I came from. But it's pretty cool though." _The scene shifted to Evan on his skateboard, grinding on a stair railing. _"That's me, Evan Daniels, dashing skater. And this film's about what's important to me. My family."_ The scene shifted to Logan tutoring us yesterday in jujitsu. _"I mean, they aren't my real family, but they've kinda taken me in, you know? And like any family, we're all a little different."_ The scene shifted to Scott and Kurt washing Scott's mustang. The image zoomed in on Scott, who waved at the camera. _"That's Scott, he's really cool, but can be a bit of a stiff." _Suddenly, Scott was blasted by a stream of water, and the camera moved to Kurt, who was blasting him with the hose. Kurt laughed before Scott threw the wet rag he was carrying at him. _"Though Kurt usually takes care of that." _Most of the younger X-Men laughed at the footage beforeKurt suddenly turned on the camera with the hose. The scene shifted to Jean, who was sculpting a clay sculpture of Xavier's head. _"The Prof is kinda like my new dad, he's awesome, and so's Jean. She's got looks, and talent." _Jean and Xavier smiled at Evan before the scene shifted again. This time, it was everyone gathered around the piano, listening to Ororo playing some beautiful music. I remembered how uplifting it made me feel, and I could tell everyone there felt the same. _"This is my auntie, Ororo at the piano. She's a pretty classy lady." _The scene shifted to Rogue and Kitty dancing to the Dracula soundtrack. _"And speaking of classy ladies, check out Rogue and Kitty. Man, they got some moves." _The scene then shifted to Kurt dancing on the patio. _"And so does Kurt, he likes to party."_

"Dude." Kurt said with a fist. Evan bummed the fist with his own before we went back to the film, that shifted to me talking to Kitty._"And so Ripley, he's pretty chill and laid back, but man he's got a lot of backstory." _The scene then shifted to me walking with Scott before I waved to Kitty, who pulled me aside with a smile. _"Being a foster kid and gay in the places he grew up really toughened him up and tore him down, but I think he's found stability and a family here. He's actually kinda like a cool big brother you can talk to about anything, whether you want to or not. But it just shows how much he cares." _I smiled and knocked on Evan's leg with my knee, making him look at me.

"Sweet." I said. Evan smiled before we went back to the movie. The scene went to Kitty, who was reading in the gardens when she took notice of the camera._ "We all get along pretty great, you know?" _Kitty then pulled out her own camera and snapped a picture at the cameraman. The light then went to the footage of Jean and I in the bathroom when she slammed the door in his face. _"And even when they're mad at me..." _The scene shifted to the play when the door closed. Everyone was in their seats, Kitty and Rogue were on stage, everyone was smiling, cheering, and having a good time. _"They're still there when I need help. That's what being in a family's about. Being there for you in the good times, and the bad. And these guys are really tight." _At the final scene of the play, everyone began cheering on the cast for a wonderful performance. The camera then moved back to us in our rows, cheering on our girls for a good job. Evan stepped in front of the shot and gave a friendly smile before a title that read "The End" appeared in front of him. _"So this film is dedicated to my new family."_

**End of Chapter 33 **

**A/N: Whoo! Lots just went on here, didn't it? Honestly I think this has been the longest chapter I've written so far. I could be wrong, but hey, humor me. I forgot to mention a couple chapters ago that Jordan Harrison is not an original character. He's a student at Midtown High under the tutelage of one science teacher, Peter Parker. He seemed like a good character to put in this story, and Ripley needed a human friend or two, and I thought he'd be good for him. Now, I wonder how he'll handle seeing Ripley fly and teleport, and later finding out he's a mutant. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we? Did you see the Spark's with Ripley and Logan? And if any of you caught on to the Disney Reference bit, PM me and see if you're right, or if you don't know the reference, PM me and I'll tell you. Review, favorite, and follow, because it will make Ripley and I very happy if you do. Stay tuned, and may peace be with you all.**


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